













•* ^o' 






♦ Ay ^ o 







^^ ^ •v 



^-.s^" .* 

*• ^^'\ - 










^* > 














^vr 










^^\ 






STARK COUNTY 



AND ITS 



T^IOJNTEEIiS. 




BY 3/1^ S. E:^r^HALLEJ\'BEFiGEB. 




CAMBRIDGE, ILL.: 

C, W. SEA TON, ni^MllIE CHIEF OFFICE, EOOK AND'JOB PRINTEK. 

187(;. 
7- Li 



TT 



VJ #s. 



TAJ^>LE OF CONTENTS. 



Jnli'odiiclioii. 



.17 



J'AJi T J . CJI A PTKll J. 

A ]:<lro.<jwftin' (llioicr, incIiKHiif/ Ihc rarioKs }oi/((f/es of dhcov- 
ii-ij bji invaiix of ir/tich a InioHiah/e of t/iix land teas conrci/. 
ed to the Old World, (tnd Kwif/rafion hidiind to drift hitlicr- 
intril—Oeolofficca ( 'iKoigcfi—Oirhoniferous Per iod— Forma- 
tion of our Coal treasures— Cliar<«-f<r <f oar Jh-nidcnt J)i- 
di((as, lllacl: Ifairk'^i liicarsion^ X-c 21 

(' II A J' T E R II. 

Oar First Srtllcrs— Isaac ]}. Esse.r—Various (/rovps of Settlers 
at Osceola, Wi/o)nin</, Lafai/ette, West Jersei/, and Vallet/ 
Toivnsliij). The (Ircuinstanees that Kn droned them, Anec- 
dotes, iU'.— First Marriage, Jiirth and Death, in ichat is now 
Stark Coanti/.— When and how the first J fomes were built. 
— Charaeterof the Farlij Settlers—the Impression thet/ have 
left upon our countj/ * _ 28 

(' II A P T E li III. 

The Formation (f Starh Count ij.~Jls first Flection, Organi- 
zation, &c.— Political Struggles and Maneuvers of the Farli/ 
Settlers.— Institution of Courts.— Xataral Admntages—Ge- 
ographji, Climate, and General llealthfulncss of' the New 
Count tj.~Its (ir<n-es (oul Roads 42 



CIIA P TER I V. 

Pubfic Enterpri.*e.s — Heligiovs, EdticationaJ, Benevolent, Jli'/i- 
tary and Business 63 

CIIAPTEB V. 
The Fauna and Flora, hjj T. J/. Sliallenberf/er 123 

CHAP TEH VI. 

\ Our Toirns — Tordon, Wt/owinr/, LafayeUe, Bradford, (yistle- 
ton, iMincan. — Their Past History and. Present Pros- 
perity ; 136 

P A n T II.— P EPSO NA L S KE T C HE S. 
1 
I General Samuel Tliornas and Family 1D7 

! Jiev. B. C. Dunn and Family 2U2 

I IVjf. William H. Hender.^on 2()8 

] Jler. Samud (i. Wright 217 

I TTie Hall FamUy 22S 

; TumbuU and Oliver Families 240 

' The Srxjteh Settlement at El mi ra 2.:i 

\ Tfie Sturms Family 2->5 

Mr. Henry Seeley 2.y> 

Mr. Thomas Winn 2"»1) 

'Die Emerys 261 

Mr. JamtK Bu-nvetl 2<>^ 

The Butler Family 2t36 

den. Thornai< .1. Henderson 273 

j The. McClennahan Family 2S4 

I Tfie Efsex Family 280 

i CojK-lusiwi 2S8 



APPEXDIX^ 

Abstract of Vote 293 

, tSoldier.i' Becc/rd, d-e 30* 



IXTHODUCTIOX. 



We are aware that there exii^ts a large class of readers who al- 
ways igiio--e a preface or introduction ; for them these opening;- 
pages can have no interest. But, to those who think they can 
read any work with more pleasure, and criticise it more justly^ 
after learning somewhat farther of its history and ain^s than can 
be gathered from a glance at its table of contents, we would say, 
this little volume was commenced at the suggestion of old settlers 
of Stark county, and has been carried forward to completion by 
their assistance and encouragement. 

It is no offspring of elegant leisure, nursed into being to dispeS 
the ennui born of idleness ; but on the contrary, it has been con- 
ceived and shapen into its present proportions, in tlie midst of a 
ceaseless round of cares, and penned amidst the bustle and con- 
fusion of a life, that so far, has hardly known a holiday ; and 
perhaps the only special fitness the writer had for the work, was 
a sincere love for the subjects under consideration. For, but 
dimly remembering the far-a-way land across the sea, from whence 
our parents came, our life since childhood has been identified with 
that of Stark county ; and now " when the almond tree flourislies 
* * * and those that look out of the windows be darkened,'* 
we are bound to the spot by all the tender ties that bind a daughter, 
wife and mother to the shrine of home, and the graves of kin- 
dred ; and, it is with pleasure we reflect, that, although in future- 
years the promise of milder skies, of fairer scenes, or richer miners, 
may tempt our children's feet far from these quiet haunts, yet 
shall l)onds subtile as strong, bind their hearts to thi 
the place of their birth, and for))i(l them to forget till 
their latest breath, their early home among these prairies\ 



» 



18 IXTRODUCTIOX. 

Therefore, to compile these item.s of local interest has 
been for us a labor of love. We have slu-unk from calling the 
result, distinctively, "A History of Stark County," for the reason 
that there is much between these covers that hardly deserves to be 
dignified by the name of history. Indeed, so short has been our 
«pan of life as a county, and so few events, properly historical, 
have transpired among us, that a few brief sentences would con- 
tain all that the world at large would care to know of us, or our 
doings. But this past is our own, and as such we accept it, and 
as citizens may well review its results with pride and pleasure. 
r?o, to aid memory when she ftdters, and to preserve for our child- 
ren these pictures of by-gone days, this book will comlnne with 
history and statistics, reminiscence, anecdote, and biography, 
hoping thus to put within reach of every Stark county man, a 
knowledge of the religious, educational and business interests of 
the county, giving him opportunity to compare the past with the 
present, and note the changes years have wrought. 

That all this has been but imperfectly accomplished is more 
than likely ; that some localities, and some families should have 
been more fully represented upon these pages is most true, and no 
tme deplores such omission half as nmch as the author ; but let the 
responsibility rest where it belongs. At the outset of this under- 
taking, no pains v/ere spared to interest all parts of the county, 
and all old settlers. Appeals were made through the jiapers for 
information, and cooperation in the work ; asking either through 
the means of a personal interview or by letter, for all items of 
general or family interest, suitable for publication. That some 
promptly responded and aided in furnishing the requisite material, 
while oth<'rs manifested a strange, we had almost said, a con- 
'temptuous inditfevenee, cannot be denied. Scores of letters have 
been written, and many journeys made to elicit desired informa- 
tion, and even those means have not always been attended with 
success. So now, if any one finds the facts he or she has furnished, 
ignored or perverted, we shoulder the blame; but let those who 
have been so persistently reticent in the past, "hereafter hold 
their peace." It is their fault, not ours, if we have failed to learn 
all w-e .should have said for any section of our county, or for any 
individual within its l)ounds. . 

Gathering history from its original sources— the lips of living 
jnen— is a widely different operation from comparing and transcrib- 
ing written records that have been sifted carefully, perhaps for 
i-enturies. 

J3y the former method, you assuredly catch more of individual- 



IXTRODL'CTIOX. 19 

ity and the spirit of circumstances ; but accuracy and precision 
are not so easily reached. Tlie best memories differ in the tenac- 
ity with which they hold the particulars of past events ; some 
seizing upon one sort of detail, and some another ; hence, often 
rises an honest difference of opinion. 

For about two and a half years we have been patiently glean- 
ing facts and figures relative to this work, from every available 
source, only when nothing better could be found, falling liack up- 
on our own i-ecoUections. We now offer the result to Stark county 
readers, asking, not charity exactly, but to be judged In a spirit 
of fairness. Of the value of the second part of our work, the jus- 
tice of the personal sketches, no doubt very different opinions will 
obtain ; this is anticipated, exj^ected. 

To write biography well, under any circumstances, critics say, 
is a rare and delicate art, and few are those who successfully 
pursue it. But to write sketches of living persons, many of whom 
are still active members of our community, all of whom have 
been but recently so, and not offend the taste, or contradict the 
opinion of any, would be a miracle, and \\e do not inhaUt a 
" miracle land." 

The friction wrought Ijy contending sects, parties, and ]>usiness 
interests has not yet subsided, and in some cases the i-eaders of 
these pages will stand in the position of excited combatants to- 
wards the sultjec-ts thereof, instead of regarding them with the 
same comjjosure with which they read the memoirs of strangers. 

As we have had no share in all this din and strife, but have 
been merely a looker on from the quiet of our own hearth-stone, 
we have said our say uubiased by such considerations. We have 
intended to speak of all, the Ijest we could truthfully, and no 
more I Shakspeare said 

" The evil that men do, tives after them ; 
The good is oft interred with their bone.-iy 

Now we dare to reverse this rule so far as we are aVjle ; we can 
think of no benefit that could result from publishing the faults 
and f()il)les of our pioneers, even if we were cognizant of them ; 
but whatever they have done toward advancing any of the mul- 
titudinous interests of our growing comnmnity, we are glad to 
record in this volume devoted to their deeds. 

The political record of such as were prominent in politics, we 
expect each reader to judge from his own standpoint • we have 
endeavored to give the facts as they appear to us. without fear 
or favor, not hazarding opinions often, or allowing our individual 



20 INTRODUCTIOX. 

preferences to unduly color the narratives ; nevertheless, we have 
sketched them, as artists say, with a " free hand," indulging in 
detail and anecdote, when such were at our command, although, 
in so doing, we are aware we are opening a wider door to criti- 
cism. AVe could give bloodless skeletons, built up of names and 
dates, so correct that nolnxly could quarrel with them ; but we 
prefer whenever practicable, to offer instead, portraits of life size 
and color, and leave our readers to discuss the details, only asking 
them to believe that wherever in the progress of this work we 
have ventured a stricture, it was because Ave thought it was de- 
manded ; and where we have offered a tribute, it was because we 
felt it was deserved. Not a line or word has been paid or bar- 
gained for. AVe leave the matter of remunemtion with a gen- 
erous public, confident it will not allow us to suffer loss by the 
publication of " Stakk County and its Pioneers." 



STARK COUNTY 

AND ITS PIONEERS. 



CHAPTER I. 

A retrospective GlauGe, including the various Voyages of Discovery, 
by means of which a knoidedge of this land teas conveyed to the 
Old World, and emigration induced to drift hitherward — Geolo- 
gical Changes — Carboniferous Period — Formation of our Coal 
Measures — Character of the 7'esident Indians — Black Hawk^s 
Incursions, &c. 

In one very important sense, at least, Stark county had no exis- 
tence prior to the Act of the General Assembly of Illinois, ap- 
proved March 2, 1839, creitting such a county. But tliis pliase ot 
political life had " its antecedents," as we sometimes say ; and it 
may be worth while to consider them for a short time, as we 
know that ages previous to that epoch, our prairies basked in the 
sunlight, our groves towered in primeval ])eauty, and our rivers 
rolled with fuller, l^roader streams than they do to-day. Once, 
these lands formcn:! part of "Old Putnam," aptly styled "the 
mother of counties," and then, this region was known in Metho- 
distic annals, as " Peoria Mission." 

Going back to ISi"), we lose old Putnam in a gigantic county 
called Pike, stretching over all the state north and west of the 
Illinois river, in which Chicago* formed a village on Lake Michi- 
gan, of about a dozen houses, and sixty inhabitants, and Peoria a 
.small settlement on the west bank of the Illinois river, also in 

* Ford's History of Puttuini ami JIarsluill Counties. 



22 STARK COUXTY 

Pike county, while a few workmen had clustered around the lead 
miner? of Galena. But a road through the unbroken wilderness, 
eastward or southward, was not made until late in this year (1825) 
when " Kellogg's trail " pointed the devious way from Peoria to 
Galena. Not a white man's habitation, not a bridge or ferry 
was to be seen along its entire route; indeed, northern Illinois 
was still the hunting ground of the Winnebagoes and Pottawato- 
mies. However, the honey bee,and "white man'sfoot" in blossom, 
had already whispered to the redman of the coming stranger; 
and "the white canoes with pinions" were pushing their way 
toward western waters. Thus, events which might seem to have 
but a remote, had really a marked significance in shaping our fu- 
ture history. 

Still following up the stream of Time for a brief space, we come 
to 181 S, when Illinois was admitted into the great sisterhood of 
states. Two or three years previous to this, " The Military Boun- 
ty Land Tract" had been surveyed by order of the government, 
and the greater part of it subsequently appropriated in bounties 
to soldiers of the regular army, in service during the last war with 
Great Britain, thus complicating titles to millions of acres of val- 
uable land, to the great vexation of settler and dealer for time to 
come. But, sweeping past all these dates, ere a section had been 
measured, or a corner stone put down, or a tree " blazed " through- 
out all this wide domain ; ere the nineteenth or the eighteenth 
century had dawned upon our world — in 168(i the gallant LaSalle, 
with his Italian Lieutenant Tonti, and a Franciscan Friar, Father 
Hennepin, as historian of the expedition, had parted with their 
steady oars the tranquil waters of the Illinois, built Fort St. Louis 
on Buffi\lo Rock, near Ottawa, and on, or near Peoria lake, say 
some authorities, another fort which, in memory of his many mis- 
fortunes iuid disappointments, he called Creve Cceiir. (Broken 
heart.*) The details of these operations are already obscure<:l by 
the mists of years — the diary of Father Hennepin being the only 
record of them known to exist. From this, it seems that Henne- 
pin was left to make his way to the Mississippi, (which he spells 
Meschaasipi,) and Tonti to look after the forts on the Illinois, 
while LaSalle started on foot and alone to return to the French 
settlements in Canada, a distance of not less than twelve hundred 
miles. Eeturning the following spring, (1681) he found his forts 
deserted, probably through fear of Indians ; but nothing daunted, 
commenced his search for Tonti, who throughout all the vicissi- 
tudes of his wonderful career, seems to have been a brave and 

* Bancroft. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 23 

faithful follower of LaSalle. They met at Mackanae in the pres- 
ent ?-tate of Michigan, and immediately began their enterprise?^ 
anew, appearingupon the Illinois with a large company of natives 
and Frenchmen. 

Xow who can say these events have no interest, no meaning for 
us ? AVhen the soldier adventurer and priest at last made their way 
back to the laud of their fathers, what tales they told of the won- 
drous beauty and fertility of the "Illinois country" and of the- 
rude but friendly aborigines, for friendly as a nde they undoubt- 
edly were then, sending their chiefs out to meet their white breth- 
ren, smoking the pipe of peace with them, and offering theni. 
com and venison. What wonder then that two years later, say 
16S;3, we find LaSalle again leading out a colony from France des- 
tine<l for the valley of the Mississippi. But owing to misunder- 
standings b?t\ve^n him-elf and his naval commander, perhap.^ 
to the obstinacy of the latter, they failed to find the mouth of the 
great river, and finally landed at Matagorda bay in Texas. Here, 
after enduring the most api»alling sufferings, he was basely mur- 
dered by two of his own men while again tryin.g to make liis way 
to the homes of his countrymen in the north. The world knows 
little of his achievements or of the countries he visited save from 
the brief record of Hennepin, "an ambitious and unscrupulous 
priest." Yet has he left to us his name forever associated witii 
deeds of dauntles-? heroi-m. and must always be considered as the 
father of coloniziition in this great central vallev of the ^^'est.* As 
we still trace back link by link the chain of discoveries that open- 
ed up this land to a knowledge of the civilized world, and made? 
possible the scenes of thrift and prosperity that surround us, wx* 
find Marquette sailed down the Mississippi as far as the mouth of 
the Arkansas in 1673, and on his return, entered the Illinois, whicfi 
then for the first time, reflected the face of a white man. And in 
all the years that have since glided by, we may well query if that 
river has borne upon its bosom a better man than the saintly, tht- 
pure minded, the heroic Marquette!* "My companion," .said 
the good father, referring to Joliet, " is an envoy of the king of 
France, but I am a simple minister of Christ." His death \^-as 
-ingular, and a fitting close to his holy life. "While j^assing ap 
lake Michigan with his boatmen, he lande<l at the mouth of the 
stream that now bears his name: retiring a short distance into the 
woods he reared a rude altar, and kneeling beside it yielded up his 
spirit, in the act of prswer I There are those who can sneer at this 
man a.s a " fanatic," or a " misanthrope." But hi* self-sacrificing 

♦Bancroft's Historj- vf United States. 



24 STARK COUNTY 

devotion to his mission, to what seemed to him duty, riSes to the 
height of sublimity, and entitles him to the reverence of man- 
kind. Again we are indebted to a Catholic father, (Claude Al- 
louez) for tidings of this land, as far back as 1665, at which date 
he was a successful missionary to the Indians of the north-west, 
and was the first white man who ever heard of our prairies, which 
he says he did on the shores of lake Michigan from a tribe of In- 
dians from this neighborhood, known as the Illini, and Nicolas 
Perrot and party were the first who ever set foot upon them. Al- 
though one hundred and thirty years before, viz. in 1541, De Soto, 
the brave but unfortunate Spaniard had stood upon the banks of the 
Mississippi and found but a g^ave where he liad thought to con- 
quer an emjjire. 

In September, 1534, about twenty years after Columbus, moor- 
ed his caravels on the shores of the New World, Cabeza de Vaca, 
and his comrades crossed the great river as far north as the Tennes- 
see : indisputably the first men from the Old World who ever 
looked into its turbid waters, thereafter to become a vast tlior- 
oughfare of commerce and civilization. One can hardly take in 
this hasty glimpse of events long past, without reflecting how 
closely the history of any land is bound up with the history of its 
lakes and rivers, its navigable waters ; they are the natural inlets 
and outlets of wealth, of society, of civilization. Our fine rail- 
roads are now relieving us from utter dependence upon our water 
<M3urses, but in tlie early settlement of this county what could have 
I'ompensated us for the loss of the Illinois river. It was, so to 
speak, oiir sole port of entry, our source of supply, our base of op- 
erations for everytliing pertaining to the settlement of the Spoon 
river country. All our first settlers made their way here from the 
river, and nearly all, it would seem from Peoria, by the routes 
now known as the Slackwater and Princeville routes. But this is 
a digression, and these are all but as things of yesterday, when 
compared with certain other events that had occurred, having as 
importaTit a Ijearing upon our present comfort and prosi)erity, as 
uught of later date could i>ossibly have. AVe allude of course to 
geological changes, and would li\in carry the reader back for a 
brief moment through these " eons of ages." Back, back, through 
drift and glacial epochs, through Eocene, Miocene and Pliocene 
periods, all of which have left their records strewn around us 
in imi)erishable and unmistakable characters. But we pause not 
now, to descri!)e or decipher them, till we reach what is known 
among scientific men as the " Carboniferous period," when our 
earth was enveloped in a humid atmosphere and subjected to a 



AXD ITS PIONEERS. 25 

more than tropic heat. This we are told was the era, first of in- 
land sea.s, whicli were gradually changed by the rains into fresh 
water lakes, and tliese in the course of centuries were by natural 
causes transformed into spreading marshes from whence sprang 
the gigantic ferns and club mosses, growing to the dimensions of 
our forest trees. Being bituminous in their nature, and absorbing 
vast quantities of carbon from the highly charged atmosphere, 
they became of course highly combustible, and by various upheav- 
als and subsidences, alternately expose<:l and submerged, subjec- 
ted to influences, the nature of which, we can only decide l^y their 
results, they became in this region the famous " coal measures of 
Illinois," so necessary to the material comfort and wealth of our 
present and prospective millions ! Probably not more than a mile 
from where these lines are pennetl (by a glowing coal fire during 
the winter of 1874 and 187o) once spread several of these mighty 
basins, with their rank growth of vegetation, and to-day bridging 
the ages with their lives, creep low " at our feet, the dwarf ferns, 
rushes, and swamp grasses that bear indisputable marks of descent 
from the giants of the Carboniferous age."* In view of all these 
wonders science is so (luietly unfolding to our vision, can we' 
do less than bow our heads in reverence before that Almighty 
Power, (call it what you will) nature, or nature's God, that "has 
fashioned the earth and given tlie seas their bounds," out of cliaos 
and barrenness brought order and fertility and teeming life ; rais- 
ed the mountains, spread the valleys, and made our entire land 
wliat it is to-day, an Eden of beauty, a fitting abode for a great 
and free people. 

It would of course be expected that in a work of this kind some- 
thing would be said of the former owners, or at least occupiers 
of the soil, more especially as they and their barbarous deeds are 
staple articles with most writers of local history or legends, in 
this western country. And there is often something rather fascin- 
ating in tliis field, for a touch of wild romance or thrilling adven- 
ture attaclies itself always to Indian traditions. But we shall be 
t'omitelled to leave these in the hands of Mr. Longfellow, wlio it 
is imagined had a more ronarkable class of aborigines to deal 
with, for from what we can glean, either from-spoken or written 
authority, very little of interest is to be found in the annals of the 
P(jttawatf)mie's. Mr. Clifford's statement is "that the whole ca- 
l^oodle of them were on one occasion frightened out of their wits, 
and contemplated abandoning their village on Indian creek, by 
the report of an old blunderbuss In the Essex settlement," in 1882 

* Tlifsc (iiiot;Uiuri.< ari' fruai Prof. Agiiosiz's Sketches. 



26 STARK COUXTY 

or ISoo. By thi< time they had learned something of the p<'»vv-er 
of the white man, and knew they held their position only on his 
sufferance, therefore their fears t«->ok the alarm at any indication 
of hostility. Between the two races, then standing face to face, 
there was doubtless a mutual antipathy, often a mutual dread. 
Our pioneers report those they found here, as a dirty, shiftless set. 
the men of the tribe eking out a precarious living by hunting and 
fishing, while the women broke the sod. built the " poney fences," 
and raised p;dtry crops of corn. They were given to begging- 
most importunately, if not to stealing from tlieir white neighbors : 
their villages or enciunpments. of which there were several with- 
in our present county limits, formeil rendezvous, especially on 
Sundays, for the idle and vicious, where horse trading and liquor 
drinking went on, much as in later days at a Gipsy camp. So 
destitute of any element of poetry or romance were the last days 
of the reil man in this region, ami their trails, their corn pits, and 
the irraves of their de-ail were the learaeies thev left us when thev 
took up their enforeei^l march west of the [Mississippi about 18:35-0. 
We know there is an impression in some ijuarters that the Sac* 
under their famous chief Black Hawk, penetrateil into this vicin- 
ity, during those frantic death struggles of their nation, which 
were finally terminatetl by the battle or niassi\cre of Bad Axe, in 
lSo2. Indeed a writer in our late *' Atlas of Srark County " lo- 
cates the i-anip of the old warrior in Goshen township, but this 
idea is contradicteil by an authoritative history which distinctly 
states " his village was on a piMnt of land between the Mississippi 
and Rock rivers net^r their junction," and as the gt>vernment had 
causetl some lands in that vicinity to be surveyeil and sold, and 
wiiite settlers had movetl upon them, he comniitteil some outrages 
and utteretl threats against whom he conceived to l>e the invaders of 
his rights : but was frightened into peace by the arrival on the scene 
of Gen. Gaines with an overwhelming force of volunteers, in 1<31. 
Indeed, he had retired west of the [Mississippi, when the forces 
reachevl R(X'k Island. But again in IS-Sil. influenceii by the ctnui- 
sel of a Winnebago chief, who had a village on R(X'k river, he 
made his last desj^erate raid into Illinois, keeping liowever. along 
the Ri^K'k river country, little war parties, making *;\vagt^ incur- 
sions across what is now the northern portion of Henry and Bu- 
reau txHinties, sending i^umic far and wide thn^ugh «)ld Putmun, 
but never in any more direct way invading our limits. But it 
was an era of excitement. Many settlers along the frontiers of 
northern Illinois,"' in dread of the untold horrors of Siwage war- 

* F>>raV Ki?t^ rv ,f" Putuam ;vac Marshall iTountiee. 



AXD ITS PIOXEEKS. IT 

fare, fle^l from their lands and homes, some of them never to re- 
turn. It wiv5 at this crisis that volunteers frtnu Spoon river ren- 
dezvoused at Hennepin, as relate*.! by Mr. Clifford, under the direc- 
tion of tlxe g-allant Col. Strawn in " Bonaparte hat and lat-eil eoiit," 
and it is said no less than fifteen hundred men reported themselves 
for serN'iee at that j>oint. But though the fetir was genuine, it was 
to some extent unfounde^i, and s^xni after the massiwre on Indian 
creek of Fox river, about ten miles above Onawa, allude*.! to in 
our sketch of Col. Henderson Black Hawk and his train of 
starving followers, were tracked to the lieights of the Wisconsin 
where they stood at bay. and suffenx! a disastrous defeat. Unable 
longer to resist, the old chief retre-ateil in ha^^te to the Mississippi, 
which he anempteil to cross. But before he could acctnnplish this, 
however, his band was almost annihilated, and himself a prisoner. 
So were the senlements henceforth delivered firtmi all fear of In- 
dian invasions. In thes^ scenes of bkxxishetl. the Pottawato- 
mies to^^k no part, although it is supi^»osetl that the Siics expei^'tetl 
their cc operation when they made their last desperate venture in 
Illinois. Here we leave the red man, to meet the fate decreed him 
by a relentless destiny, and as is common in our world turn from 
the settinsr, to hail the risinar sun. 



28 STARK COUNTY 



CHAPTER II. 

Our First Settlers — Isaac B. Essex — Various Groups of Settfers at 
Osceola, Wyoming, Lafayette, West Jei^sey, and Valley Town- 
ship. — The Circtonstances that Environed them — Anecdotes — 
Eirst Marriage, Birth and Death in what is now Star/c County. 
— Where and how the Jirst Houses ivere built — Character of our 
Early Settlers — The Impression they have left upon our County. 

In the latter part of April, 1S20, a solitary, heavily laden wagon 
might have been seen slowly wending its way from the hospita- 
ble home of ]Mr. French, at Prince's grove, about half a mile 
north-west of the present town of Princeville, toward Spoon river, 
probably crossing that stream at a point since known as Board- 
man's ford, or, as others think, near the seat of Cox's mill, 
and moving on toward section fifteen in what has since 
been known as Kssex township. The weather was warm 
and balmy considering the season. The prairie burnt over by the 
Indians in the fall was already green with sprouting grass. Ac- 
companying this vehicle were, as it might seem a guard of good 
men, and true; "neighbors" they calle<:l themselves, although 
they must have lived many miles apart, some of them thirty or 
forty from the scene of their present friendly labors, having come 
from LaSalle prairie, from Chillicothe and PeK)ria. They were 
neither hunters or warriors, they feared no enemy, and sought 
not the " spoils of war." It wa* a peaceable expedition, and its 
leader was the occupant of the wagon, Isaac B. Essex, then in the 
strength of his manhood, and with him came his young wife and 
infant children to found a home in the wilderness. The " Neigh- 
bors " were Daniel Prince, Stephen French, Simon Reed, Frank 
Thomas, and two Baptist ministers, Elclers Silliman and Allen. 
The former of these two was the father of our much respected 
townsman, Minott Silliman, Esq., the first treasurer of Stark 
county. It is possible there may have beeu one or two more 
in the company, but if so, 3Ir, Essex fails to recall their 
names after the lapse of so many yeai-s. And these men had 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 29 

come so far to raise a cabin ! Mr. Rssex had been out and made 
his chiim in 182S, and in the fall of that year cut the logs and split 
the clap-boards for his house, probably all of which were on the 
north-east quarter of section fifteen. They now proceeded to haul 
them together and get them in shape on the proposed building 
site. They all camped in the woods the first night, but toward 
sundown of the second day, the cabin was raised, the roof on, and 
as Mr. PIssex graphically says " we cut a log out and moved in." 

This was emphatically The Pionc-er Cabin, the first home of 
civilized man within the present limits of Stiirk county. Hence 
we have given it special mention, not that it differed materially 
either in the style or circumstances of its construction from its 
successors, but rather that it might serve as a sample of scores 
that soon nestled in the sheltered nooks for miles around. It was 
of course rough, and bare of all ornament, we might almost say 
of all convenience, but still it was a home, the fountain-head 
of those elevating influences, that are of priceless value to human- 
ity. Then Mr. Rssex was a natural pioneer, "to the manor 
born," and his wife, if we may judge by subsequent develop- 
ments, was not wanting in spirit, in that sort of spirit, properly 
called pluck, a quality that always commanded a premium in 
frontier settlements. They were contented and knew how to 
make themselves confortable in their new abode. The rich prai- 
rie sod was soon broken, and they raised a good crop of corn, po- 
tatoes, and beans the first year, without a fence. Game of all 
kinds was abiuidant. Deer and turkeys supplied them with 
nieat. From the river they got fine fish, often pike weighing 
twenty or thirty pounds, and fully four feet long. Occasionally 
they made a visit to ]Mr. French's family, their nearest white 
neighlwr, a distance of seven miles. The Indians were much 
nearer, and were not bad neighbors when sober. A remark, we 
opine, that might apply to many people not red skinned. 

The second cabin within our present county limits, was l)uilt by 
John B. Dodge, in the autumn of 1829, on section fourteen, Fssex 
township. Of this we know no particulars. Dodge left this part 
of the country many years since, dying probably in the new state 
of Texas. The third was built and occupied by Benjamin Smith, 
in March, 1830, on the same section with his son-in-law, Dodge. 
These three cabins, all in Essex township, constitute<l the only 
habitations of white men within our present county limits prior 
to 1831.* This year William D. Grant made an improvement 

* For this and many other lUcts in this fbaptcr, we art- i:ul(bteLl to Gtncral lltiidcrsun's " Ad- 
dress to the oUl &>ttU're,'' sjivcn in 1805. 



'30 STARK COUNTY 

where Judj^e Holjxate now resides, and John E. Owinss had mov- 
ed into the settlement, and occupied the cal)in Iniilt by John B. 
Dod<>e. There were in 1S;U the following named settlers in what 
is now Stark county, viz: Isaac B. Essex, Thomas Essex, jun., 
Thomas Essex, sen., Benjamin Smith, Greenleaf Smith, Sewel 
Smith, William P. Smith, John B. Dodpe, David Cooper, Wil- 
liam 1). Urant, John C. Owings, Harris W. Minor, David Greg- 
ory, and Sylvanus ^Nlore. 

At an election held in August 1834, there were in six townships 
of Stark county, then included in " Old Putnam," thirty-three 
votes polled, and as the election was a very important one, prol)- 
ahly every voter was out. Befercnce to the poll liook of that elec- 
tion, shows that since 1881 the following additional inhabitants 
had settled in the territory referred to, viz: Jason Hopkins, 
Jesse W. Heath, John P. Hays, Pardon B. Dodge, James Hol- 
gate, A. Baker, John IMegill, James ^tcClennahan, Kol)ert 'Mc- 
Clennahan, Elijah 3IcClennahan, sen., Elijah McClennahan, jun., 
Elias Love, John l^ove, Hugh Montgomery, T. Leeks, Thomas 
Winn, Charles Pierce, Hugh White, Peter ]Miner, Lewis Sturms, 
James Morrow, and ^Nlinott Silliman. 

At an election held in August, iMoG, there were in the six town- 
ships liefore referred to, fifty-four votes polled, and from the names 
recorded upon the poll book, the following persons spem to have 
settled within their limits, say from January first, 1884, to January 
first, ls8(i, viz: General Samuel Thomas, Cajitain Henry Butler, 
S. G. Worley, Henry Seeley, Henry Sturms, ^Matliias Sturms, W. 
E. Buckingham, William ^NLahany, Jarville Chatfee, Joseph New- 
ton, Adam Day, Israel Seeley, Simeon Ellis, Peter S. Shaver, 
Dexter Wall, Ira Ward, Cyril Ward, Samuel Love, Henry Sweet, 
Asher W. Smith, Lewis Perry, Adam Perry, Luther Townsend, 
H\muel Butler, Eliphalet Elsworth, Daniel Dobbins, Christopher 
Sammis, Lemuel Dorrance, llichard Dorrance, Henry Breese, 
Hugh Erail. 

In 1S()."), «-even of the last list were known to be dead, while 
only ten then resided in our county. The last decade has doubtless 
thinned their ranks afresh, and now in 1875 but a very small 
number of our old settlers still linger with us. The indifi'erent 
reader must i)ardon tliis [lerhaps, wearisome array of names ; they 
can easily be igncn-ed by those who take no interest in them, l)ut 
these are our pioneers, and we should cherish their memory as 
such. Of many of them we have but little to record, save their 
names, so ditftcult is it, even now, to arrive at the true story of 
their (juiet lives ; doubtless could we do so, they might teach us 



AXD ITS PIOXKERS. 31 

many valuable Ies--ons, for is not bioora])]iy, hi.stoiy teaching by 
■example? At any rate we who enjoy in so large a degree the 
fruits of their labors and sacrifices, could not deny their names a 
place in the liistory of Stark county. Of course as years roll on, 
and settlers multiply, we do not design to record all transient i)c()- 
ple, mere adventurers, " here to-day and gone to-morrow." But 
of those who came early and brought their families, and have 
dwelt among us, heli)ing to mould our county and make it what 
it is, we would not willingly omit one from these ])ag(^s. 

In December, 1S35, a numl)er of resolute men had pushed their 
way from Peoria, to what has since been called Osceola Orove. 
Among them were Mr. .James Buswell, Isaac Spencer, Thomas 
^^'atts, (aies C. Dana, Peter Pratt, and Dr. Pratt. They came out 
vmder the auspices of INIaj. Robert Moore, who had ol)tained a maj) 
of the lands in townshi]) tburteen north, range six east, designa- 
ting the patent and uncjitered lands ; and he now encouraged 
enngration hither, with a view to Iniilding up a town, which he 
had surveyed and called Osceola. ^lajor INIoore was an intelligent 
active, busine^^s man, ever ready to take advantage of circumstan- 
ces, and fond of adventure. He subsequently went to Oregon 
with one of the tirst parties that ever crossed the mountains, 
whither his family followed him some years after, with the ex- 
ception of his youngest son, Ro))ert IMoore, Esc^., who is at tiiis 
date a resident of Toulon. But at the time of which this narrative 
treats. Major jNIoore owned a ferry that crossed the river at Peoria, 
and to this he gave his personal supervision, and as enugrants 
crossed, wliich they did frefiuently, he would take the opportuni- 
ty to recommend the Osceola country to them. In this way ])rob- 
ably originated the company he led there in 183o. (iuoting Clif- 
ford's history in regard to this enterprise. "The parties above 
named were all from Vermont — which Saxe says is a go(Kl state 
to ijome. /ro)/i but a i)Oor (;ne to go to — except JNIoore, ^\•ho was 
from one of the southern states, and I^ay who was from Massa- 
chusetts. When these persons reached the Grove there was no 
one living there excei)t Henry Seeley, who then had a cal)in near 
Avhere he lives now, and Lewis Sturms. A jjortion of the party 
stopijed the first night at Sturms', and were hospital)ly entertain- 
ed. It was a dark, dreary, rainy night; they all slept on the 
floor in the sniall cabin, and from the day's fatigue, having come 
on foot fr(jm Prince's Grove, they soon fell asleep to l>e disturbed 
soon after by a loud hallooing outside, occasioned by the arrival 
of the Sturms family pro]jer, the number of whom our informant 
was unable to state, further than they filled the little cabin 



82 STARK cor XT Y '■ 

V'liiK'k fu!l ;' tlioy Avore made up of men, woinon and children, 
wet, worn, lUti<rued, ;uul hun*;ry. Our inlbriuant !^uys one ol" the 
women came on horsebaek Mith twins in her arms, and in a sorry 
pliiiht from havinji' been 'pitched off' lier hor<ie in slouahs and 
u'uHies coneeiUed by the darkness of the niii'lit. Some of tlie par- 
ty were taken over to Sei'k-y's wliile the remainder tilled the floor. 
The next day the balanee of the l*eoria party came in from Boyd's 
(Irove, having- lost tlu-ir reekoninys and strayed out of their direc- 
tion. The whole party then moved west for tlu' ])urpose of sur- 
veying and makiny' their claims. For one week they camped out 
in the t;i>verest weather of tlie mo'.ith of December, that week be- 
ing" the colde.st of any during- the whole seivson. The provisions 
which they had brought with them from Peoria were exhaustwl, 
anil nothing was now left them to sustain life, excei)t c(trn they 
hud brought to feed their horses during the excursion. For the 
la.st day or two they subsisted entirely upon nubbins of corn burn- 
ed by the tire, which culinary operation was performed in the 
morning, each one taking a few burnt nubbins of corn in their 
pockets for dinner. At night they varitnl this luxury by burning 
the corn, pountling it up, and making 'coffee' of it." Clifford fur- 
ther states that the parties named moved upon their claims in 
]\Iay, 1S;](). This is certainly a slight mistake as r(\gards some of 
them. They probably built cabins as soon a^ that, or sooner, but 
some of the families referred to, did not arrive in the settlement 
till later in the summer, or in the fall. Tliere i*i no doubt, how- 
ever, that during some i)()rtion of that year many new names 
nuist be adiUKl to our list of pioneers. In June came William 
Hall and wife, llobert Hall and their sister 3Iary, now Mrs. Has- 
ard of Xeponset, and occupied for a short tinu^ the cabin owned 
by 3[r. liuswi'll, who was still with ins family in Peoria. With 
the Halls came the A'andyke brothers, Archie and Charles, the 
former bringing his wife with him, and INEr. Prady Fowler who 
had been their companion up the river, soon followed them to the 
Grove. Myrtle G. Brace, Esq., (father of our present county 
treasurer,) F. S. Prodhead, and a large family by the name of 
Davis, the latter from the tlien frontier land of Tennesse.', all lo- 
cuiod in this neighborhood about the same time. The Sturms 
family had some of them reacluHl Seeley's Point in 1834, and de- 
tachments continued to arrive from time to time, making claims 
near the south j)art of Osceola Grove, till they had a settlement 
of their own. They were regular frontier's men, every one 
"mighty Inmters:" of tall stature, combining strength and activ- 
ity in an unusual degree. Wearing an Indian garb of fringed 



AM) lis ITOXKER^. .33 

liuckskiiis, their feet ciicascc! in nioccasiiis, witii bowic knife nt 
the belt and riMe on tlie shoulder ; no wond'T many a new coiner 
started from them in afTri^'Iit, sai)i)osin^' tliey had eneountered 
j!,x'nuine " scalpi'i's." Hut these men were l>y no m^'ans as savag'e 
as they seemed, lint had hearts to which friend or stranj^-er never 
appealed in vain. \'ery many old settlers yet remember they 
}4'ot their first slice of meat from a Stm'ms' pork baiTel, their first 
meal of corn or potatoes from their fields. And as early as 18;}(> 
they had horses, cows, and ho.'^-s to sell, and in this way aided 
others not so w-'il provided. Wiiile these events wer" trans- 
l)iriiiM- in one part of our territory, to tlu; west and south-west 
were added names since become familiar. The Dunbars, IFod^'e- 
sons, I.akes, ("liattields, Simmermans, Trickles, ^|o{!itts, Siieets, 
and Dunns. Also Jacob Smith, Nehemiah Wycoff, \7. \V. We!>- 
ster, the liarnetts, the Eckleys, and tlu> lOmerxs. Col. Hender- 
son also settled aI)out on(> mile south of Toulon in is;','i, brinji,'inf;- 
his larc>-e la.mily of sons, who to^'ether with himself lilled so larp,'e 
a place in our political and social history in subsequent years. By 
this time the Mc(*!ennahans and William INrahaney had improve- 
ments about two miles south of Toulon. AN'esley INIiner had a 
cabin when; the old Indian villa.t;-e luul been, near the present 
site of Toulon, up.')n the jjremise-i now owned by Mrs. Ff)l- 
lett. Jlarris Miner had a cabin at a j^'i'ovfi three or four miles 
north-west of Toulon, and Fraker had settled at the i)oint of tim- 
l)er near the present site of Lafayette. Judj^'e ITolj^-ate had settled 
where he now lives, upon tlu^ imi)rov(>ment started by Wil- 
liam 1). (irant, Lemuel l)orranc(> further up Spoon river, 
above lIoljj;-ate's. (General S. Thomas was at Wyominjif. A man 
came with him by the name of William (Jodley. (xoori^o. Parker 
and Thomas Hradford came in about ISii-VO, and settled on Jack 
creek, in Toulon township. There were some other improve- 
ments i)rior to \x'W>. Harris W. ]Miner, (usually called AVesley 
]\riner) who stopjied for a time at I'rince's Urove, as did many of 
our first settlers, made his first improvement within our present 
county, at a ]K>int of timber a little north-east of Wyomin<>', in 
is;{2 or is;',;}; it is said that he broke the lirst acre of land and 
built the first cabin in Toulon township, this beinjj^ on the Cul- 
bertson homestead, just north of the town ; also that his marria<^(^ 
with ^Nliss Nancy (Jross was the lirst marriafn'c solemnized between 
white j)eoi)Ie in this rei^ion ; the ceremony was performed by 
Hir.im M. Curry, Esij., then living- near Peoria. The second mar- 
riage was that of Nero AV'. Mounts, to the widow ^lartindale, in 
is,",2, and tiiis time tliere was a resident Justice of the Peace to 



Si STARK COUNTY 

officiate, Benjamin Sniitli, Esq., who with Jolm C. Owino:s was 
elected in Au«:ust, 1881. We regret we can give our readei's no 
particulars of these interesting events ; doubtless there was much 
that would strike us as unique in the costumes, and style of the 
alTairs generally, but as it had not then become customary to 
jnake these details matters of newspaper notoriety, they are lost 
ill the mists of years. However, in Februa:*y, 1831, there was a 
wedding at the house of Mr. James Ilolgate, of which we can 
tstill learn something. This was between a gentleman ])y the 
name of ]Mc(_'lure and a sister of Mrs. Holgate, Miss ]Marsh. The 
j^uests were, ^Iv. and ]Mrs. Sylvanus ■Nloore, Mr. and Mrs. 
lireenleaf Smith, 3Ir. and ]Mrs. .John Dodge, ^Ir. and Mrs. Sam'l 
Seeley and Jesse Heath. Whether Squire Smith or some wan- 
dering preacher i)erformed the ceremony, Mr. Holgate did not 
inform us, Init said he had in IS-M, but a cabin sixteen feet scpiare, 
and well tilled with the usual comforts of pioneer life. They took 
the door from its hinges to add to the table, and as the weather 
wa.s mild for the season, the men stood outside A\hile the feast 
\va.s si)read. Then " bee gums " were brought in and i)uncheons 
laid on them for seats, and they had an excellent dinner, no 
scarcity of anything Init room. The repast over, the men had 
jvgain to retire to the " sky parlor " until the table could be clear- 
ed and the door restored to its place, when they all managed to 
get inside and had a gay time. But the toilets must be left to the 
imagination of the reader. 

The lirst child born in the county was a son of Isaac B. Essex, 
in 1829. The flrst death was that of a little child of David Greg- 
ory's, who lived for a time with Sylvanus Moore, near where 3[r. 
Joseph Cox now resides. 

Let us glance for a few minutes at the circumstances that envi- 
roned these settlers even forty years ago. These marriage licenses 
must be obtained at Hennepin, the county seat of old Putnam ; 
and to get them a man might have to " face floods or flames," for 
as the town is on the o[iposite side of the river from us, with a low 
bottom intervening, subject to overflow, and by a sudden change 
in the weather to freeze more or less, sometimes rendering it im- 
passable either for team or boats, men were often reduced to 
iitraits as ludicous as trying, probably thinking less however of 
their own peril than of the anxiety and susi)ense of the group 
around some dear fireside who were racking their brains to ac- 
count for the unexpected delay. Thus one man tell us he had to 
urge his horse to its utmost speed to escape the sweeping prairie 
.fire, another had to pay the ferryman double and treat him be- 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 35 

sides, before he g'ot his courag-e up to the point of daring the ice 
current that was rolling l)etween him and the ol)ject of his lieart's 
desire. Finally, lover and preacher were landed, and once more 
on their way to the place where the ceremony was to be perform- 
ed. But a new obstacle presented itself. The east fork of Spoon 
river was over its banks, and great ragged blocks of ice threaten- 
ed madly any one who braved their fury, Init, the wcndd be mar- 
ried man plunged in, and he and his horse were soon clambering: 
up the opposite bank thoroughly wet and benumbed with cold. 
But now the preacher declined to take his chances, and the i)ros. 
peel did not brighten at all. But after a hurried consultation at 
the house of the l)ride elect, it was decided to call in a neighbor 
who had lately l)een made a Justice of the Peace ))y the suffrages 
of his countrymen, and have him i)roceed to tie the nuptial knot. 
The officer was in a painful state of mind ; the possil)ility of such 
.services being retiuired of him had perhaps ne\-er been consider- 
ed. But he was not the man to fail his friends in an emergency, 
so putting a copy of the statutes for such cases made and provid- 
ed, under his arm, he set out resolutely to do his duty. But the 
novel situation was too much for his nerves ; he would have pre- 
ferred facing Indians. Standing l)efore the young couple he seem- 
ed smitten with palsy, or shaken by a sudden ague. His teeth 
chattered, his kiiec>s knocked together, and great l)ea(ls of sweat 
stood on his brow, making altogether such a picture of suflering, 
that pity al)Sorbed every other emotion in the observers. It was 
with difficulty he uttered the words i^rescribed ))y law, few as 
they are; but he did utter them, and to good purjMjse, for they 
have )x)un(l two willing hearts these forty years, and have not 
been annulled l^y divorce, Asiiich is more than can be said for 
many fashionable ceremonies since those days. But marriage was 
by no means the only business that involved the performance of 
long journeys, and hair 1)readth escapes. 

To pre-empt their lanil they must go to Galena, Quincy, or at a 
later period to Dixon. With no roads, no bridges, no places of 
shelter, nothing to direct their course save the sun or wind, (which 
latter would sometimes sadly deceive them by an unnoticed 
change,) and sometimes an Indian trail; these, were reliable 
guides wherever they existed, and were followed with perfect 
confidence by the true backwoodsman. Then think of the near- 
est market being Galena or Chicago, and no railroads ! Wheat 
was hauled all thc^se weary miles to be sold at fifty cents a bushel, 
or less. The farmers usually forming little companies for the trip 
as the road was infested at times with a sort of banditti that made 



36 STARK (OrXTY 

it unsafe for a man to travel alone; then they bivouaced in com- 
pany, tryinii' no doubt to have some fun to compensate for the 
fatiu'ues and exposure of surh jaunts. Many are the tales tohl us 
of these times; every old si'ttler has his stock of them ; we ^hall 
venture to record one only, as told by Robert Hall of Osceola. 
He, in company with hi< brother William, W. W. Winslow, and 
Robert Coultass, the hitter a stout Enulishman liviuij in Bureau 
county, undert<iok to drive a lary-e <U'ove of hog's to Oalena, in 
the dei)th of winter. Winsh)\v and the Halls started with theirs 
from Osceola Grove, C'oultas- was to join them witli Ids, near 
where Sheflft?ld now stand-, which he did, and they got ixlowy 
slowly of course, but without any serious ditticulty until they 
struck the great prairie beyond the Kdwards river, ^^■hich was 
then a stretch of sixteen miles without a halting- place. By this 
time provisions were growing scarce, and they dispatched Wil- 
liam Hall ahead witli the wagon to obtain some, and have them 
in readiness at their next camping si)ot l)eyond the prairie. But 
hardly had he left them, till the wind changed, and soon blew a 
gale directly in their teeth ; a driving snow filled the air and al- 
most blinded them, and the hogs most positively refused to face 
the storm. And tliese were no pen bred liogs ; but huge animals 
that had fattened in the woods, they knew the use of legs, and 
t'ould travel almost e<iual to horses. So the drovers had hard 
work to prevent a general stampede back to the settlement they 
had left. To advance a step was utterly impossilde. As they 
were on the open prairie, without fire, food or shelter, a "coun- 
cil of war" was called, and it was decided that there were but 
two horns to the dilemma, they must either perish there or follow 
-the hogs home again. But jn~t at this juncture the Peoria and 
Galena stage, drawn by four stout horses, came dashing along- 
cutting a path through the snow, and for some reason known only 
to themselves, the hogs took after the stage, fairly pursuing it for 
nnles, squealing furiously, and running at a rate that almost kept 
them abreast of the horses, to the great relief of the drovers who 
thereby soon reached a shelter for the night, and voted " all's well 
that ends well." In the course of time they arrived at Galena 
with their drove, and made arrangements for doing their own 
slaughtering as was then common. Some man furnished them 
yard, board and fire, and all conveniences for the work, and in re- 
turn took the rough tat. So on the whole it turned out a fortu- 
nate venture for those days. 

Of course, at first no groceries, or dry goods, or household com- 
forts of any kind could be obtained nearer than these distant mar- 



A-ND ITS PIONEEKH. 37 

kets ; not even flour nearer tlian tlie Illinois river, for many 
years ; and in tlie autunui of 1S;}S, the river being too low for nav- 
igation to Peoria, all stores had to be hauled up from St. Louis, 
whieh of course made tliem very expensive, far to(j much so, for 
the meagre purses of our pioneers, and great were the privations 
endured by the aged and invalids among them. At this time in 
the Osceola settlement, they had to grind wheat or buckwheat in 
a coffee mill for bread, or grate corn on a huge grater i)ut down 
in a tub as we now put our washboards. One coffee mill and one 
corn grater had to do service for a whole neighborhood, making 
daily rounds from house to house. Many still living can testify 
how tender Angers often bled over that cruel grater. But men 
must eat, and A\-omen must work then as now, and although every 
substitute for ])read was tried, it seems as if nothing else could fill 
its place, and meal must be had at any i)rice. Great was the re- 
joicing when an Irishman by the name of Cook set up a large 
hand mill at ]Mr. AVinslow's place, and ground for the settlers at 
so much per (^uart. Of course, near the same state of things ob- 
tained in all the neighboring settlements. Attempts had been 
made to build mills on Spoon river, but they proved a poor depen- 
dence. Harmon Leek built one not far froi\^ the In-idge on the 
Toulon and Wyoming road, as early as 1S;];5 or is.M. It had one 
run of stone, and there was a saw mill attached to it. They cut 
the logs and sawed them to order. The dam was made of brush, 
hay and gravel, and the whole thing was poorly constructed. In 
the winter of 1S85 or is;j(;, ]Minott Silliman rented the entire con- 
cern for the coming year tor thirty dollars. But the high waters 
of the opening spring swept dam and mill away, to the dead 
loss of Silliman, of the thirty dollars paid in advance, and an 
equal amount of prospective profits. If sickness came in those 
days no physician could l)e obtained nearer than Peoria, and if 
death, then a minister must come from that point, if the bereaved 
would listen to the words of religious consolation, or see the sol- 
emn rites they had been accustomed to, performed above their 
dead. Well we recall a funeral in the woods, perhaps in .July or 
August of I.^.'jT. a little girl had died, a coffin was made ))y Mr, 
Cal\'in Winslow, from a packing ])ox, as boards could not be ob- 
tained of course, and the tiny thing was conveye<l to her grave 
by loving hands. The cliildren dropped flowers upon the coffin 
lid, a few voices sung the hymn beginning 

" The mornlna floweris disphuj their .nceets, 
And (jdji their silhn lean's i()\fr)hjy 



38 STARK COUNTY 

And we left her to sleep on the hill side— no tolling bell, no 
hearse with nodding plumes, none to say " Earth to earth, dust 
to dust, ashes to ashes." 

• " JVo Healer, Gifeacrs balm to shed 
With priestly power, was there ; 
jVo hallowed lip above the dead 
To lift the voice of prayer ^ 

We trust our readers will pardon this little digression ; we 
must sometimes illustrate the spirit and practices of those days, by 
incidents-drawn from memory when nothing better is afforded us. 

A good deal has been said in regard to the first improve- 
ments being all made in the timber, as if it implied any lack of 
judgment on the part of the men who made them. It certainly 
was not strange that people who had always lived in the shelter 
of groves, should select such sites for their new homes. To many 
of them prairies were untried experiments, and it was a prevail- 
ing opinion that timber would soon become very scarce, a fear 
without foundation, as events have proved. So the settler laid 
his first claim on a timber quarter, kncnving when the state of 
his exchequer perftiittetl, there would be jylenty of prairie land to 
buv if not to enter. Then these cabins were many of theni poor 
haPf finished affairs, and protection from the driving storms was 
very desirable ; the timber also sheltered stock till such times as 
sheds and out buildings could be erected. That the time soon 
came when intelligent enterprising farmers saw their interest lay 
in improving prairie farms, and ceased clearing fields, when there 
were boundless acres presenting no obstacle to the most perfect 
cultivation, argues nothing against the policy of sheltering for a 
time in the woods. Forty years, yes even thirty years ago, scarce 
anything could have been seen through this portion of the state, in 
the way of a human habitation, save these log cabins. Probably 
the fii'st frame building in the county was a small store room, oc- 
cupied by Whitney Smith at Wyoming, and not long after, there 
Avas a smiUl room or two, built at Lafayette, and used as shops 
or stores. About this time a frame barn was raised by Dex- 
ter Wall on his old homestead near the mill. The writer remem- 
bers seeing it before it was inclosed, and still recollects with what 
interest it was visited l)y many. As soon as it was sufficiently 
finished to furnish protection from the weather, it was used for 
church purposes, and considered a very desirable place by the 
church goers of those days. But though so recently these log 



AND TTl^ PIONEERS. S» 

houses were all that we had, so entirely have they disappeiu'er^ 
before the march of iiiiproveinent, that but few, if any are inhafr- 
ited to-day. ^Nlany of the cliihh'en p^rowing up now, have never 
seen one, and can liardly iniajiine how their fathers and mothers 
lived happily and contentedly amidst such rude surroundings ; 
but that they did so live (Uu-ing the best years of their life, mainy 
can still attest. Of course, the character of those early homes 
differed with the character of the occupants, just as our more ex- 
pensive homes do to-day. There were then, as now, the thriftjr 
and tlie unthrifty, the tidy and the untidy, the cultivated and the 
uncultivated, and these differences contrived to impress themt- 
selves, even upon a lo*;- cabin. The very first ones, were nrwlv 
alike in j^^eneral construction, being usually one lower room wit!« 
a loft; a puncheon fioor, a door of rough clap-boards, with a 
wooden latch, and the traditional string always supposed to be 
out. There was the large fireplace built of stones, or sticks i)Iit.s;- 
tered with nuid, a mud hearth, a huge skillet, in which the 
family baking was done by means of placing hot embers under 
and over; and perhaps a tea-kettle or coffee pot ; and in the cor- 
ners farthest from the fire, bedsteads, made by boring holes in the 
logs and inserting poles which were fastened to short posts at the 
foot. These frames were then covered withe clap-boards or 
"shakes," and you were ready to "make up your bed" if yow 
were fortunate enough to have such a luxury ; if not, then you 
could throw some clean straw upon it, or if in the autumn, gath- 
er fresh knaves, throw on them a quilt or Iniffsilo robe and it woufrl 
do for a new comer. A rough table made from the remains of 
packing boxes, or something of that kind, a few benches or stools 
and a shelf for the table ware, and you have the interior and fur- 
niture of a pioneer cabin. 8ome of them had a log sawed out ta 
admit the light, and the aperture was closed by a curtain at night. 
Few of the very first had any glass for windows ; some were con- 
structed without the aid of nails, though hardly without tlie 
sound of a hammer. "Weight-poles" were used in such casesv, 
to hold the roofs on, and wooden pegs where v/e should use naiff^^ 
But the better class of settlers soon found means to impro'^-e uiKni 
this state of affairs. The southerner built himself a double cahiss 
with an open space between, such as he liad been accustomed to 
in the warmcn- land from whence he came. This open space Ik"- 
ing roofed i)i, made a pleasant dining room in summer, and in 
winter the seed c(n*n hung from tbe rafters, and it served as a 
store house for things "generally. Each room of this establisFi- 
nient had its open fire, the one used as a kitchen, perhaps sportefi; 



40 STAKK COINTY 

a "craiu'" from wliich dan^ikHl tlu' cookinii' utors'.ls ; tlic otluT 
was tlu- host room, l)ut hoth contaiiu'd lu'ds, as tho tU'iuaiuls niton 
the ]iosi)itaUt.v of these pioneers, were almost nn(H>a-5n,u- ; and as 
another expresseil it, thongh there was ahvady a uuest for every 
pnneheon in tlie Hoor, the stranger was snre of a weleome, and 
room wonkl be made for him by the U>o- tire. Soon story-and- 
a-half eabins ]);':>'an ti> tower aloft, and then a lo.\n-t!) and p;>ri'h 
male a very comf »rtiible r.^sidenee, if a rou;4h oa \ Pe )ple e nnin^- 
from neijihborin.ij- states eontrivwl to brino- sash and jilass for 
windows, and perhaps a bedstead and a eonple of ciiairs weri> 
stowed in the .i>reat wag-on somewliere, and adorned the front 
room, after they yot to honseket'pinu'. Then the taste of the 
thrifty honsewife wonld be called into requisition t;) eover up 
whatever m as unsii,ditly, and make the most of every vestigv of 
comfort tiiat circumstances permitted. Perhaps a shelf support- 
ed by peg's drivi'n in the wall, held tlu' little stock of glass and 
crockery ware that had survived the vicissitutles of the emigra- 
tion ; from this slie would hang a curtain, and behind it set or 
hang, all the rougher cooking utensils. The vinegar Itarrel stootl 
in one corner, for your jtioneer housekeeper must make her own 
vinegar as well as her own soap and candU>s ; this she also cur- 
tained, and the top made a passable stantl. Then if she was for- 
tnnate enougli to jtossess a small tabU> to stand under her window, 
it was surprising to st'e how soon a few books and a vase or glass 
of iiowers madetluMr way to it. The bedstead was adorned with 
a " tester " and curtains; sometimes made of the snowy sheets 
brought so carefully from former homes, but more frtnpiently of 
dark rich prints or chintz, eitlier of which gave an air of comfort 
to the bed and secured privacy to the ot-cupant. (Jivi'awoman 
of tact, hammn- and nails, needles and thread, and plenty of cal- 
ico, and there is no end to the transformation slie will accomplish, 
said an old settler as he SLepi)ed into his garnished cabin, as 
jtroudly as if it had been a tapestried chamber in some ancestral 
mansion of Europe. 

The dwellers in these houses were a heterogeneous groui> ; 
tlu'y had come from the north and from the south, from 
the -east and (I had almost said the west,) to clasp hand> 
on these prairi(s. From the Atlantic coast, from ?sew Kngland 
homes; from the green mountains of \'ermont ; from the l)eauti- 
ful " Valley of Wyoming;" from "Old Luzerne;" from the sun- 
ny vales of tliesoutii, from A'irginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee; 
from the border-land of Ohio and Indiana. Others had crossed 
the sea. Jolm lltdl, w ith his sturdy Knglisli nature, and all his 



AND IT- iMOXEERS. 41 

national prejudice- rilV- witliin liini ; albeit tenipercfl now l)y a 
j-i-owinj;' love of free institutions and a dawninj;' sense of the f>Teat- 
iK'SS of his adopted counti'v. "J'Jie Scotchnian too, \\'rap]»(d in his 
shepherd's plaid, self-reliant, self-eontained, and se]f-(h*nyin<j:, 
nieetin;L;' all hardships cheerfully, stridinj^- steadily forward to- 
ward future wealth and distinction. And last hut not least, the 
Irishman, with his ready wit, and rollickinji' love of fun, throw- 
ing' as it were, the hriyht lij^hts on a j)icture otherwise too sombre 
to l)e })erfect. lU^n^ then, if anywhere on earth was a chance for 
diversity of character, and din-rsc^ they certaiidy were, hut still, 
usually the utmost good will pivvailed. There were no doubt, 
some worthless and many rouj^h specimens amonji;* them, yet ta- 
ken as a body it may be averred understandinyly and mdiesitat- 
in<4ly, that Stark county may well be j»roudof her j)ioneers. Proba- 
bly at the date of their settlement, not one of tliem all, could have 
been called a rich man. They M'ere mostly youny, and had come 
west in hope of winnin<i- a comix'tence, and they carried the ele- 
ments of success within. They conformed to circumstances, and 
must often have presented a rouj^'h exterior, but they were not 
ignorant boors, or lazy louts, or unprincipled adventurers such as 
we r(!ad of in the settlement of the newer states. Had tliey l)een, 
our county would never hav(^ risen to its )»resent proud position, 
for with cojomunities as individuals, 

" Jii.sf (IS llic tir'xj is hcnl , flii' fr('c\H hicl'uK'd.^'' 

Their courage, and industry, enterprise and culture, niay t>e in- 
ferred from the work they accomplished, and the fami- 
lies they be(|ueathed to their country. l'^)r among the newer 
names that now attach themselveV to c)ur records and reflect cred- 
it upon the land they inhabit, the sons of the i)ioneers still deserve 
honoral)le mention. They have represented their countrymen 
in legislative halls, led them on hard fought battle fields, and 
many of them freely gave their lives for the honor of the o\d 
flag; and henceforth we can but wreath tlieir graves with fresh 
garlands, as an assurance that we are not ungrateful. And what 
shall be said of the daughters of the i)ioneers? What mon? could 
be said than that they were worthy to be the wives and sisters of 
these men ! Their mission has l)een fulfilled for the most part 
within t!ie ;piie<^ precincts of home, but doubt it not, they have 
had their share in moulding the present generation ; in giving 
tone to so!'iety an<l color to events. 

" I(7/o rocka the cra<U(f, moves the world y 



42 STAKK COUNTY 



CHAPTER III. 

The Foi'iiidfin}} of S'arl: Coiinti/ — /?.s' Ilrsf Election, Oir/aiiiz<(fion, 
Ar. Podtk'iil. Strugi/h'-i and Maiuncers of the Eatii/ Sdtlerx. — 
Iiiitfitufion of Courts. — Xafurat AdranU(r/es — Geoifruphy, Cli- 
inute and (/encraf /teatf/i/atness of the Xctr Coanty. — Its Groves 
ami I?o((ds. 

A?> the people of the Spoon river eoiin try liad early l\'lt the pvat 
inconvenience of attendinji: court and tran^actinjji: their imhlie 
husiness at ironnei)in, movements for a new county had been in- 
auii'urated before Bureau was erected. .Vt tlie same sessit)n of the 
le.irislature in 1880-7, when the act creating" the hitter M"as passed, 
an act " for tlie formation of tlie county of Coffee" was approv- 
ed. Now as Colonel AVilliam Henderson was from his first 
settlement here, prominent in local ]H)litics, and known to be an 
enthusia-;tic admirer of the Tennessee hero General CoflTee, with 
(n'uniU'r whom he hail done military scrvire, it is hiu'hly probable 
that this, as well as subsequent acts for the same purpose were se- 
cured throuiih his instrumentality. Tiie new county was to be 
eiiihteen miles siiuarc, comprisinu' nine full townships. Six to bo 
taken from Putnam, two from Knox and one from Henry, lien- 
Jamin Mitchell, Richard X. Cullom of Tazewell, and Samuel 
Hackleton of Fulton, were the commissioners to select the site 
for the county seat, which, if located on grountl not already laid 
out as a town, should be called Ripley. This act, however, was 
not tt) take eti'ect, unless a majority of the voters in Knox and 
Henry -ounties, at an election on the tenth day of April, ISoT, 
should sanction it. Putnam was allowed no voice in these pro- 
ceedings, and the project failed on the vote; so " Cottee County" 
was no more, although it had already appeared on several maps 
of that day. A more vigorous attempt was made during is;]s:, 
fontiuuing through a great part of the year, ^luch feeling wa.s 
exciti'd by this contest as is usual in local (piestions. Roth i)arties 
in the struggle had weighty arguments to wield. Those wishing 



•ii: 



AND ITS riO>fEKRS. 43 

to make the Illinois river -a bouiulary on the east, urj^inp: the in- 
creased taxation that nuist resnlt to the residents in a small coun- 
ty. The other side urj^inji: the convenience of a county seat near 
at hand. So the question of a new county was made the leadinji; 
issue in the canvass for another representative from the Sj)oon 
river country. As early as Fehruary, IKJJS, a meetinjj: was held at 
the house of James Ilol^ate, near \Vyomin<f, when, it was " He- 
solved, to petition the next lejj^islature for a new county, and to 
protest af^ainst the Illinois river as a boundary on the east," and 
" to nominate Colonel William II. Henderson, in order to the suc- 
cess of their plans." .Vfter adjournment, a meeting,' of the (lisaff'ec- 
ted minority, some fifteen or twenty, was held and resohitions 
passed " to accept the Illinois river as a boundary on the east, 
and to put Thomas S. Elston, Es(|., of Bureau in nomination for 
the let^islature." ]Mr. Klston, however, does not appear to have 
become a candidate. Others were nominatt'd in ditl'erent parts of 
Putnam and Bureau ; 1»ut only the names of Colonel Henderson, 
Ammon ^loon, B. M. Hays of Hennepin, and Andrews Burns of 
]Ma<::nolia, were cons])icuous in the canvass. In an address to the 
electors of the district, i)ul)lis]ied in the nearest i)apers. Colonel 
Henderson stated that " he should lay down as a basis for his ac- 
tion, two lines, to-wit: the lines dividini:: ranges eight and nine, 
east of the fourth i)rincipal meridian,. and another which had ref- 
erence to the formation of ^Marshall county." He was elected by 
a plurality of nearly a hundri'd over his competitors, receiving 
the almost unanimous vote of 8i)Oon river, Lacon, and Lafayette 
precincts. Notice for a iietilion for a ih\v c( >unty was again adver- 
tised according to law, in October, ls;5s, and on th(> sixteenth of 
January, ls.'5i). Colonel Henderson presented this petition fron) 
citizens of Putnam, Henry, and Knox counties, praying the for- 
mation of a new county, which was referred to the proper com- 
mittee. In due time a bill was reported " for an act to estal)lish 
the county of Stark," which was twice read, and referred to a se- 
lect conniiittee, who returned it with several amendments, which 
were adoi)ted by a close vote. This Ijill was unsatisfactory to cer- 
tain local interests, and was lost upon the final reading; as also 
the next day, upon a reconsideration of the vote. On the lioth 
of February the committee on counties i)resented the same ol»ject 
in a different shape, under the title of " an act to disiwse of the 
territory west of the Illinois river in the county of Putnam, and 
for other i)uri)oses." This passed the house with some ditiicnity, 
and was ameuded l)y the senate, the title being changed to, "an 
act for the formation of the county of Stark, and other purj)oses." 



44 STARK COUNTY 

The anioiulnient.-i were eoiieurred in liy tlie house, and the coun- 
cil of revision approved the act, IMarcli second, 1S80. Thus after 
so much troultle we were to be recojiiiized as " 8tarlc county.'" 
To whose taste tliis name was due, is sometimes a matter of curi- 
osity among our i)eople, many thinlcing it the clioice of our rep- 
resentative, who had formerly sugjiested " Coffee." There is no 
means of ascertaining- this to a certainty now, and it is really a 
matter of small importance, but the writer is well convinced that 
the name was a politic concession on the part of Colonel Hender- 
son to the wishes of his constituents from Vermont, many of 
whom lived about Osceola Grove, and who also urged Benning- 
ton as a suital)le name for the county seat. But in this last, were 
overruled by the Henderson intluence which succeeded in nam- 
ing our town not in honor of a French seaport as many have im- 
agined, but in mem(n-y of a mere village in Tennessee. At the 
time of its formation our county contained near one thousand in- 
habitants, over two hundred of whom were voters, by a rather 
lil>eral construction of the statute law, to which many were then 
inclined. Its l)oundaries were designated as they now exist ; six 
townships being taken from Putnam, two from Knox, provided 
in the latter case, the majority of voters in the two townships 
should give tlieir consent, which they appear to have done. 

An election for county officers was ordered held at the house of 
Elijah !\[cClennahan, sen., and the county commissioners, when 
electetl were instructed to demand of the treasurer of Putnam, a 
sixth part of $9,870, received by him untler the internal revenue 
act. "The county seat when located should be called Toulon. " 
Provision was not made for the selection of its site however, till 
the si)ring of 1S4U, when the legislature passed an act to that ef- 
fect, appointing commissioners to make the location, who chose 
the present site, where not a house then stood." So says ^Iv. 
Henry A. Ford, formerly of Lacon, ^Nlarsliall county, Illinois, 
from whose valuable little work on local history, the facts in the 
foregoing i)art of this chapter have been gathercnl. But the last 
sentence quoted is not quite correct, as ]Minott Silliman the origi- 
nal owner of the land, l)uilt a cal)in here, as early as 3Iarch, iloth, 
18;>"), which together with the land he sold to John ^filler, who 
occui^ied both at the time the town was located, and deeded to the 
county the original site on the condition it should l)e made the 
" shire town " or county seat. The vote, l)y virture of which, the 
two townships from Knox became incorporated in Stark county, 
was taken at an election held at the house of Henry McClennahan 
in township thirteen north, and five east, now Goslien, on the 



AND ITS PI0NEI':KS. 45 

third ^Monday of March, l.s;5i), hv liavin.n' <j,iv('ii notice as rc((uirc(l 
liy law. The first election occnrrcd as ordered, at the house of 
P^Mjah 3Ic('lennahan, fi(.n\., on tiie first ^Monday of April, l.s;}<), 
and resulted in the election of the followinu- hoard of officers: 

County commissioners, Jonathan Ilodiicson, Calvin Winslow 
and Stephen Trickle. County commissioners' clerk, Oliver Whita- 
ker ; sheriff, Augustus A. Dunn ; treasurer, JNrinott Silllman ; j)r()- 
bate justice, William Ogle ; surveyor, John W, .Vjiard. 'J'hese coun- 
ty commissioners hein.u' declared duly elected, metatthesamei)lace 
on the 4th day of the same month, and in pursuance of the act, 
[troceeded to formally organize the county, institute courts, etc. 

But it nuist not he supposed that all this work was accomplish- 
ed, and the machinery of our little comiuonwealth set in motion 
witliout some friction, and consetjuent heat. Among those two 
hundred voters was ample room for differences of opinion, and 
although party lines were not strictly drawn here, yet local inter- 
ests were sufficiently antagonistic to make a lively contest. And 
we shall venture to turn aside here from the narration of histori- 
cal or recorded events, to give place to a few incidents of those 
days that throw light upon graver events, and lielp tlie reader to 
api»reciate the temper of the times. The first relates to the i)ost 
office department, the doings of which seems to have awakened 
the first animosity among our pioneers. In ls:};5-4 there was a 
weekly mail route established from Springfield via Peoria to Ga- 
lena. This route ran along the bluffs of the Illinois river, above 
P*»oria ui) to Hennepin, to Dixon, and on to Galena. Uuoii this 
the early settlers were entirely dependent for their mail matter. 
There was some sort f>f an office, or " hole in the bluff" just below 
the present town of Xorthampton in Peoria county, and a man by 
the name of Hicks was ))ostmaster. In is;3;5 a ])ost office was es- 
tablished in the Essex settlemeid, and Isaac JJ. Essex was appoin- 
ted the first postmaster within the present linuts of .Stark county. 
The mail was carried on the volunteer system, the settlers taking 
turns at carr.N-ing it once a week from the ofiice under the blufi". 
It was usually carried in a meal bag, and could have be(Mi in the 
crown of a man's hat. "Galena Miner" (as Mr. Harris Miner 
was often called) generally carried it on foot. The ofiice at this 
time Avas an old boot box, set ui)on pins driven into the wall, high 
and dry, and abf)ve the reach of children in the c;\bin of :\rr, Es- 
sex. In isy;] only two newspapers were taken in the county, one 
by Mr. Essex, the other by Mr. Benj. Smith. At this date two 
weeks were required to get a paper from Springfield, and a pro- 
portionally longer time to get intelligence from Washington or 



46 STARK COUNTY 

the East. From all these facts it might reasonably l)e deduced 
that this office in a boot box was a very unimportant affair, rather 
u small bone of contention for men and women to quarrel al>out, 
not half as well worth the penny as the i)rcscnt establishment at 
Toulon, so often tlu' subject of dis[)ute in later years. But we shall 
see that the i)OSsession of that " boot box " was deemed a matter of 
conse(iuence by the pioneers, and its removal to Wyoming served 
todividethecurrentsof feeling for many years. In ls;54(ien.Thom- 
iis came to Wyoming, bringing with him a large family of sons 
and daughters and sons-in-law, besides several other men, among 
them William (lodley who accompanied him in some capacity. 
All at once Wyoming Ix'gan to assume importance, and aspired to 
the post office. The Osceola settlers too, favored the change, al- 
ways choosing to east their lot with Wyoming. Accordingly a 
petition was gotten up, and AVilliam Godley was the fortunate ap- 
pointee of government. Mr. llolgate accompanied ^Ir. (lodley to 
Essex's to rt'ci'ive possession of the books and j)apers, mail matter 
iind appurtenances of the office generally, and to convey them to 
Wyoming. He soon noticed indications of a coming storm in the 
countenance and conduct of INIrs. Essex. She was washing when 
tliey entered, and for a wliile contimied her occupation with a vim 
that astonished her visitors, rul)l)ing and scrul)bing almost fu- 
riously, then she deliberately turned from her tub, wiped her arms 
and hands, sat down, and gave them lier opinion of men who 
Avould steal a post office, in terms which those gentlemen can never 
forget. Later in the day a neighbor coming in and ol)serving she 
^vas excited, iniiuired the cause, when she made the apt, but i)etu- 
lent play upon tlieir names, INIr. Clitford has recorded, saying: 
*' God Almighty and llellsgate had come and taken away their 
]iost office." Surely enougli to upset any woman, and coming on 
washday at that ! At this distance we can l)ut smile at this atiair, 
but it made no small stir among tlie early settlers ; no small strife 
jimong settlements. As the Wyoming or "spoon river men" as 
they were called, were mostly IVnnsylvanians, so the Essex men 
were principally from Ohio, Virginia, Kentut-ky and Tennessee. 
So here was a mimic " war of sections " inaugurated. The Osceola 
settlement, though at first composed of Yankees, had soon quite a 
large foreign element, and for some reason, all sympathised with 
the spoon river men, the extremes seemed combining to defeat the 
jueans. But the Essex men were many and bold. " Down with 
the Pennamites " was their war cry ; " they shall never bear rule, or 
hold office, in the new county about to be organized," was a pub- 
lished threat. But the Pennamites took counsel with their neigh- 



AND IT.*l PIONEERS. 47 

bors the Yankees at Osceola, and the Enj^lishnien and the Scotch- 
men, and the result was a well laid plan that carried all before it, af- 
ter this fashion. At Osceola dwelt Oliver Whitaker, and with hini 
E. S. Brodhead, his brother-in-law. Not far from them .James 
Moore, a son of the gentleman who had first lead emigration thi- 
therward, and this. James Moore, was a shrewd and wary politician, 
knew the best moves on the chess board every time. Fully com- 
l)rehending the position of things al)Out him, he made a visit to 
the house of Mr. Whitaker in INIarch, ]«;}!», and addressing himself 
more especially to Mr. Brodhead, related how a little knot of men 
*' at the hub of this wheel," were combined to run the whole thing 
at the coming election, referring to the " Henderson men "as they 
were called, consisting of many large families and their allies. 
Among these were the ]Mc("lemiahans, the J^errys, the I^ssexs, 
the Siniths ; and among these, it was whis})ered, the offices in the 
new county were to be distributed. But, continued Mr. Moore 
to Mr. lirodhead, you get a good horse and "we will make the 
circumference of these simkes " and teach these eha])S at the hub, 
a trick worth two of theirs." Now the reader must bear in mind 
that there was quite an infusion of foreigners already in the coun- 
ty and it was an oi)en (question whether they were entitled t(^ vote 
under the statute then in force. Tlic democrats generally constru- 
ing it strictly, and so forbidding them. The whigs, inclined to 
favor the new comers and thus enhance their own power, usually 
allowed all residents of the required age, to vote unchallenged. 
And as it was very desirable in the opinion of Mr. Moore and ]Mr. 
Jjrodhead that this latter i)olicy should i)revail in the ixMiding 
election, their first care was to arrange forjudges of elections men 
know to be favorable to foreigners voting. Thus they started 
out on their canvass, and as their course was obstructed by 
few fences or other improvements, they struck a " bee line " 
for the house of Mr. Buloff l^arish, near the northern boundary of 
Goshen township ; leaving him in what they considered a very 
hopeful state of mind, they proceeded in the direction of "Uncle 
Conrad I']mery's," on section 82, also in (ioshen townshij). This 
gentleman had been determined on, as having the proi)er qualifica- 
tions for one of the judges of elections, so the case was laid before 
him, and his duty, we suppose, made plain. His sons were called 
in council during the evening, and a fuller programme decided on. 
The next morning our canvassers rode with an escort of J']mery's, 
to Jjafayette; and, as in those days the advent of a stranger with 
news of an interesting nature to communicate, brought the neigh- 
bors together quickly as a fire-bell now-a-days. The Ilodgesons 



48 STAKK COUNTY 

and Dunlwrs, the Hurds and Jafks:)n?i, indeed all the mag-nate< 
of the town soon convened, and ncnv our politicians had an audi- 
ence worthy of their powers, and did .some of their best talking. 
Decreeing to Jonathan Hodgeson, with the approval of all present, 
the position of County C )innilssioner, they went on their way re- 
joicing-. 

Their next p;>i:it was in what was called M.\ssillon, now Jersey 
township, where lived the E;;kleys, and Dunns, and Websters, 
and Wykoffs, and Trickles. There they were equally successful ; 
i)led<>'in,!j: the vote of other s'r'ttlements to 3Ir. Dunn for sheriff, and 
Mr. Trickle for another conrniissioner, they rode forward to Wy- 
oming where ]Mr. Brodhead felt especially at home, and found no 
dirticulty in completing his plans, Avhere it was arranged that]Mr. 
Agard should be a candidate for surveyor, and Jesse Heath for 
treasurer on the tirst Monday in April. Touching at all the set- 
tlements along the road, they made the desired impression, and 
on their return to Osceola Grove, "a mass meeting" of a couple of 
dozen men was called, and it was decided t!ie Osceola delegation 
should support AVilliam Parks for moderator, Calvin Winslowfor 
the third commissioner and James Buswell for the second judge 
of election ; who the third should be was a m.itter of indifference 
to them ; but the lot fell on Moses Boardman, a man who satisfied 
all parties. Oliver Whitaker was n< )minated for the clerkship, Mi- 
nott Silliman for Treasurer, and Dr. Hall for coroner, and the 
" monster meeting " adjourned. 

The next work in hand A\'as to make this delegation as large as 
possible, and to inspire it with the proper " esprit de corps." No 
one was allowed to be idle. Teams were to 'oe "doubled," wagons 
braced, and everyone furnished a free ride to the place of election ; 
the ladies were appealed to, and induced to manufacture a flag for 
the occasi(Mi. What matters it, that bed linen l)rought from 
across the sea mu-^t serve for bunting, a bl^ie silk handkerchief be 
transformed into azure stars, and a pair of genuine English cav- 
alry pants, supply the scarlet? It>-wasa new combination and 
entirely successful, the result being a grand United States' flag, 
that seemed to ins]>ire the men with all sorts of patriotic fervors ! 
The eventful morning dawned gloriously, the Osceola men were 
early astir, four horse teams were in motion, the musicians, of 
which there were several among the foreigners, took their instru- 
ments of music, and thus, l)and playing, and flag flying, they took 
their departure for the first election, and as the old men say now, 
as they shake their heads, " we shall never see the like again." 
They proceed southward by way of Vandyke's and Wall's towards 



AND ITS PIONEERS, 49 

Wyoming, joine:! by frcsii (k'taclinieiits of men at every settle- 
jiient ; on liorsebaek, in wag'ons, and on foot they came, until by 
the time they reached the pollin.'^ place, they were quite an army 
in numbers ; so jiiuch so, that a tall, lank McClennalian named 
James, viewinji- their a])proa(*h from his jxTch on the horseblock, 
exclaimed, " where in CJod's name did all tliese men come from ?" 
" These men," remembering the old saying, " he laughs best, who 
laughs last," had quietly driven into the grove near by and dis- 
posed of their wagons, paraphernalia, whiskey jugs and all, and 
now moved quietly u{>on the enemy, resolved to wait for any de- 
monstration until the results of the election should be made known. 
They found Col. Henderson, the recognized leader of the oi^posi- 
tion, seated upon a fence, calmly surveying the gathering hosts. 
Soon he stepped uj)on the horse block, and as was his duty, read 
the act, by authority of which they were convened, said the time 
had arrived for them to proceed to business, and concluded by 
nominating Dr. Richards, who was a brother-in-law of Mr. 
jMcClennahan, for moderator, or chairman " upon the pi-esent oc- 
casion." The ayes and iioes were called for, and, unmistakably 
"the noes had it." Then the name of William Parks was put 
forward, but so great was the confusion of voices it was impossi- 
ble to tell with what result ; but some genius made himself heard 
above the din, and said " all in favor of Parks come on this side 
of the fence," and the majority climbed the fence. So the first 
point in the game of "extremes" was won! And they stood 
]\rr. Parks, who was tall and straight as a flagstaff, upon the fence 
and cheered him till the woods rang. 

The judges being clu»sen accordingtoprogramnie, clerks (Whit- 
ney Smith, and John Finley) selected, the convention went to 
work in earnest, with the results, as shown in the first board of 
county ofticers. As soon as the election of these men M'as declar- 
ed, their friends cojnmenced the most extravagant demonstrations 
of rejoicing. They went to the grove, found their wagons and 
horses, and probably their whiskey jugs all safe, and quaffing a 
little additional spirit, tliey returned hilarious enougli to the 
crowd stiil hanging about 3EcCIennahan's. Here they took out 
their instruments of nuisic and flung their flag to the breeze, driv- 
ing up and down the road in themost exultant fashion. Jn the first 
flush of victory tliey surely forgot to be magnanimous toward 
the disappointed. But now after thirty-five changeful y<'ars have 
swei)t by, and heads are white and bowed that then ciUTicd the 
honors of early manhood, perhaps too proudly, there are those 
.who remember with a twinge of remorse, the bitter reflection of 

4 



50 .STARK COUNTY 

Colonel Henderson, uttered in tlie niDnient of defeat : " I made 
the d — d little county, and this is my reward." In view of all 
that he liad aeeoniplislied for us, tliey freely say, we were un.^-rate- 
ful. But they did not reason thus that night, in LSoiJ, but loading- 
up every straggler they could find, eommeneed a sort of triuniph- 
iil march toward Wyoming, drawing up at the store of AVhitney 
Smith ; as many of the ci'owd had eaten notldng since early morn- 
ing, and it was now night, ]Mrs. Smith sent all the eatables the 
liouse contained, to feed the hungry, and iNIr. Smitli, as was the 
fashion in those days, brought out a demijohn of whiskey to re- 
lieve the thirsty ; while this was going tlie rounds, one man i)ur- 
posely gave the team a severe cut with the driver's whij), and it 
set off at a furious pace, carrying, as was intended, the \\hiskey 
i\ll toward Osceola. But one of the party who had just sense 
enough left to realize that this was a p>oor return for the kindness 
shown tliem, at last brought the cavalcade to a halt, and insisted 
that the demijohn be sent back to Wyoming. It was soon ex- 
plained that the whole thing was a joke, perpetrated by a relative 
of Mr. Smith, so the conscientious man was ai)peased, and the 
procession moved forward. Sto])ping at ]Mr. ll(jlgate's, and at ^Ir. 
Dorrance's, they played some lively strains and were rewarded by 
something more to eat, and a good many found it convenient to 
crawl into the wagons for the very good reason that they coidd no 
longer sit on their horses. And those who heard the Osceolans 
returning toward morning, " found their sweet notes jangled and 
out of tune," and men usually clear headed, were sadly muddled 
next day; in fact the entire delegation seemed considerably de- 
moralized by this first dip into Stark county politics. Then there 
were s'everal instances of men astray ; the morning light found 
Wyoming men at Osceola, and Osceola men at Wyoming. One 
of the latter had bought a pair of "bran new store pants" at 
Hennepin for the occasion, but in the " melee '.' of the frolic, had 
lost almost every button off them ; and, writes a correspondent, 
*' the way he was tied and pinned together when he reached hoiiie 
next day, was marvelous to behold." How the opposition, "the 
knot of men at the hub " behaved themselves, history sayeth not, 
but it is to be hoped, in more dignified fashion than the men at 
" the extremes." 

The first election for justice of the peace, is said to have turned 
upon something of the same local issues, the opposing candi- 
dates being, respectively a Wyoming man and an Essex man. At 
this date there were but two voting places in the county, one be- 
ing the Essex school house, the other the Osceola school house. 



AXD IT.S riONEEKS. 51 

I 

Tjie Wyoming- and .Spoon river men went to the Essex settle- 
ment, but foLinl tliL^ op|)ijsition out in strong- force, probably out- 
numbering- themselves, so to carry their point they resorted to a 
bit of strategy M'orthy of the politician of later times — more 
shrewd than honorable certainly. TJiey beg-an to examine the 
call and notices for the election, and i)ronounced tliem insufficient 
to secure a legal election ; and implying- or expressing- reg-retat the 
disappointment, left without casting- a vote, and their unsuspect- 
ing- opponents did the same thing-. Pteturning- to Wyoming- tliey 
got into wag-ons and drove with all speed to the Osceola school 
house, where they arrived about an hour before tlie polls closed ; 
and upon making- oatli that they had not voted that day upon the 
issue involved, tliey ^\'ere allowed to do so, and the Wyoming 
man was declared justice of the peace of Stark county, to the 
great joy of his friends, and equally great chagrin of his enemies. 

In recording these reminiscences of the olden time, we are re- 
minded of tlie different spirit tliat animated contending parties 
then, and no^^'. There was great excitement over these first elec- 
tions, but little rauear or milignity. Everything- was carried 
forward in a spirit of fun or adventure. Politics was a game at 
M'hich they liked to try their hands now and then, local issues, 
usually being the stakes for which they played. P]very man went 
in on his merits or his mettle, never on his purse ; it was reserv- 
ed for politicians of later days to make votes a merchantable com- 
modity, until, to the shanie of this decade be it spoken, when a 
candidate is proposed for the suffrages of a eonnnunity, the ques- 
tion oftenest asked, is not, whether he be a man of ability and in- 
tegrity, wlio \\'ill fill tlie i)!ace with credit to himself and i>rofit to 
the country ; but, can he stand the canvass ? Well may tlie true 
jjatriot bow his head as he contemplates the results such practi- 
ces have already brought, and the ruin to which they will ulti- 
mately lead. He can read the tale to the sad "finis," in the 
downfall of all other republics that have done likewise. But this 
i-< a digression from the narrative of events, for which, perhaijs, we 
ought to beg the reader's pardon. 

Never, perhaps, in the history of the United States has party 
feeling, genuine enthusiasm, run higher than in 1840; many 
writers thinking that the canvass, resulting in the election of 
General Harrison, was the most exciting our nation has ever un- 
dergone. And our little county, although then in its infancy 
and so far removed from the great centers of action, yet felt the 
force of the wave, and went wild over " Tipi^ecanoe." It was the 
first time among us that whigs and democrats had really showa 



52 STARK corxTV 

their colors and measured tlieir strenj^th. It has been sagely 
said that " the enthusiasm of the masses is more readily excit- 
ed l)y the most unmeanin.ij: symbol, than l)y the enunciation of 
the grandest principle," an(,l this canvass illustrated the truth of 
the sayin^;:. Coons, log cabins, and hard cider, were everywhere, 
and men usually the most impassive and sedate committed the 
wildest excesses. 

The whigs had an able and dauntless leader in Colonel Hender- 
son, and enjoyed this time a complete triumph over the Y-An 
Buren men, who, however, showed a strong front, under the direc- 
tion of such men as Gen. Thomas, Jas. Holgate, Jonathan Hodge- 
son, B. M. Jackson ; and also some others, who since those days 
have seen fit to change their colors. But, we do not propose on 
these pages to discuss to any extent, recent political movements 
or changes; proliably no one could do this, and not be charged 
with bias one way or the other. Forty years hence, when clearer 
light shall be thrown on tlie record of events now current, some 
abler pen may be found to do them justice. To the reader who 
may be curious to know what the i)olicy of Stark county has 
been through the stirring years of civil strife, or the peaceful 
years of a wonderful prosi^erity we will say, consult our supple- 
mentary tables ; there you can read the record " in figures that 
cannot lie," of her resources and expenditures, the endorsement 
she has given men and measures ; wliile her patriotism is attest- 
ed by the hosts she sent forth to do battle for the old flag. We 
prefer to talk of the " h)ng ago," and to preserve so far as may 
be, the annals of our early existence as an organized comnumity. 
Thus, from these first elections we shall pass to notice the courts 
that Avere immediately institutetl. The i)lace of holding theni 
was fixed by the county commissioners, at the house of Colonel 
Henderson, al)out one mile south of the present site of Toulon. 
This was probably as near the center of the covmty as any aceom- 
mo;lations for sucli purposes could be found, and they were hold- 
en there until March, 1S42, when, j|the county seat having been lo- 
cated in May, 18U) they were transferred to the house of Benja- 
min Turner in Toul')n, where they continued to b3 holden until 
tho court liouse was completed, whicli was January, 1848. 

The first session of the circuit court was held in October, 1S89, 
by Judge Tiiomas Ford, a man thoroughly respected by all 
classes of community, both for the evenhanded justice he dis- 
l>ensed from the bench, and tlie stainless integrity that ever char- 
acterized him as a i)olitician. .John AV. Henderson, though not 
yet having attained his majority, acted as clerk for this term of 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 53 

court, and the grand jury was composed of the following individ- 
uals : Luther Driscoll, foreman ; Asa Currier, Henry Seeley, 
Samuel Love, Samuel Seeley, John Finley, William Porter, Sum- 
ner Shaw, John Hester, D.wid Simmerman, Nathaniel Swar'z, 
Adam Day, Adam Perry, James jNIcClennahan, William W. 
Drummond. 

The first petit jury, also selected by the county commissioners, 
consisted of the following persons : George Eekley, Jacob Smith, 
"Washington Colwell, Calvin Powell, Elijah Elsworth, Daniel 
Hodgeson, Jeremiah Bennet, Robert Shaw, Nicholas Sturms, 
Isaac Spencer, James Buswell, Horace Vail, Samuel Harris, Hen- 
ry McClennahan, Minott Silliman, Nehemiah Merrit, Christo- 
pher Sammis, Thomas Timmins, Thomas S. Clark, Washington 
Trickle, Josiah Moffltt, Milton Richards, William Brown and 
David Cooper. 

General Thomas J. Henderson, in an address before referred to, 
.says: " I can hardly remember where these juries met, but think 
one of them at least occupied a log- crib or stable belonging to my 
father ; however, I do well recall that the first lessons in juris- 
prudence which I received, were taken in a board loft, looking: 
down through the cracks, upon that most dignified and august 
tribunal, the first circuit court of Stark county !" 

By the provisions of the constitution of 1818, the legislature on 
joint ballot appointed the judges of the superior and inferior 
courts. The supreme court consisted of one^ chief justice and his 
associates, and the legislature had the power to appoint as many 
judges of inferior courts, as in their opinion, the needs of the state 
demanded. All these judges held their office during good behav- 
ior, and had the power to appoint clerks for their respective courts. 
Thus, Judge Ford held his place by virtue of legislative appoint- 
ment, the judiciary not being elective till 1848, when the consti- 
tution of our state was changed. He was also appointed one of the 
judges of the supreme court in February, 1841, and resigned the 
position in August, 1842, in consequence of his becoming- a candi- 
date for governor of the state, to which office he was elected. 
"The ninth judicial circuit," included Stark county after Feb- 
ruary 13th, 1841 ; at that date it was added to the circuit and 
took the place of Henry county, which had been previously part 
of this, but was now set off to the sixth judicial circuit. The " old 
ninth" after 1841, consisted of Peoria, Marshall, Putnam, LaSalle, 
Kendall, Kane, DeKalb, Ogle, Bureau and Stark ; itself quite a 
domain, over which the judges and lawyers were compelled to 
travel by carriage or on horseback, arm?tl to the teeth, and pre- 



54 STARK COUNTY 

pared for every emergency, meeting in tlieir rounds witli adven- 
tures enough to till a volume of anecdote illustrative of those 
days. After the resignation of Judge Ford, John Dean Caton 
was appointed in his stead, on the twentieth day of .Vugust, 1842, 
and C(nitinued to hold the office until the adoption of the consti- 
tution of ls4S. During this ])eriod, however. Judge Young once 
j)resided here, viz, at the May term of lS4o. He was a man of 
marked ability and varied acquirements, and of manners so cour- 
teous and fascinating withal, that to meet him once was to re- 
member liim ever. He was clerk of the house of representatives 
and commissioner of tlie general land office. He never came this 
way again, audit is said his sun set at midday, his brilliant life 
ending sadly enough in an asylum for the insane. During the ad- 
ministration of Caton, there was cpnte a strife over the appoint- 
ment of circuit clerk— the asjiirants l)eing John W. Henderson, 
whig, and Oliver Whitaker, democrat. Caton being a democrat, 
appointed Mr. AVhitaker, who held the office under this appoint- 
ment until a change of law made it elective, when he was again 
chosen by tlie people, and served every term till November, 
1852, when he was defeated by Jefferson Winn. Judge Koerner 
was the successor of Judge Caton, and the last judge who presid- 
ed here prior to the constitutional change of 1S48. The first elect- 
ed to the ninth circuit, was Judge T. L. Dickey. Anotlier change 
placed .Stark in the tenth circuit. Judge Kellogg presiding — 
Judge Wead having l)een elected, but did not serve. In 1863 we 
were ranked with the sixteenth judicial circuit, and .Judge On- 
slow Peters of Peoria, was called to tlie bench. Next Gale, also 
of Peoria, who resigned witliout serving. Since which time w^e 
have had in the order named : Powell, Merriman, AVilliamson, 
Puterbaugh, and Cochrane ; all from the Peoria bar. 

In the earlier years of Stark county's existence, the terms of 
court, as might be expected, were very brief as compared with 
the present ; often only a day or two, and never for many years, 
exceeding one week. Then the advent of the "circuit lawyer" 
was looked for as confidently as the circuit preacher, and some 
names deservedly honored in the tribunals of our state adorned 
the roll. Among these, we recall Knowlton, Purple, Peters and 
Manning-. At the date of tlie jn-esent writing, it may be said ju- 
dicial proceedings have kept pace with the increase in population 
and wealth — the term extending to three weeks, !<emi-annually, 
and still cases left over. The business is now done almost entire- 
ly by the resident l»ar. Of this 31. Shallenberger is the senior 
member, having resided and practiced law in Stark and adjoin- 



I 

AND ITS PIOXEERi^. 55 

ing counties since 1847. IMiles A. Fuller, a man of near the same 
age, has been a resident of the county since its formation, but on- 
ly a practitioner of law for thirteen year.-. Mr. ^\iller was for 
many years county clerk, has rejjrescnted us in the legislature, 
and tlie constitutional convention of ISGO. James IT. Miller, the 
present county attorney, though he has practiced l)ut a few years, 
has won considerable rei»utation as an attorney. AV. W. Wright, 
our i^resent county judge, is also an attorney and counselor at law. 
These gentlemen all reside at the county seat. At Bradford is 
Mr. B. F. Thompson, formerly a representative from this district, 
and a popular captain in the one hundred and twelfth regiinent 
of Illinois volunteers ; also 3[r. .7. Bush. At Wyoming, Fargo, 
Decker and Thomas constitute the legal fraternity, and at Tou- 
lon, among the young aspirants for distinction in this line are F. 
A. Prout and Creighton Wright. 

As we were for a long time included in the ninth judicial cir- 
cuit, so we are now in the ninth congressional district, though 
but recently in the tifth. The Stark county men who have repre- 
sented their district in the state legislature, may be briefly enu- 
merated in the order of their service, thus: 1840 — Colonel W. H. 
Henderson. 1S42 — The member not from Stark. 1S44 — Barnabas 
3[. .lackson. L^4{;— (Jeneral Samuel Thomas. bS4S— Jolm W. 
Henderson. bS.'>o — Xo member from Stark. isr)2 — Xo mendjer 
from Stark. bsr,4 — Thomas J. Henderson. ISjK; — M. Shallenber- 
ger. lS.-,s— Myrtle ii. Brace. 18()()— Theodore F. Hurd. bS02— 
James Holgatc 1S(;4— R. ('. Dunn. bSOG— Sylvester F. Dtman. 
lS(;,s— Bradford F. Tliompson. bSTO— Miles A. Fuller. bS72— 
Cyrus Bocock. 1K74— A. ii. Hammond. 

Stark county also sent Thomas .1. Henderson to the state sen- 
ate in 18;")(}, and as has been stated in another connection, Allies 
A. Fuller to the constitutional convention in l.S()i). It has never 
yet been pennitted a representative to congress or a circuit .ludge ; 
Peoria county, to which it is joined, verifying the adage, "the 
big fish will eat up the little ones." 

As our county is now sujiposed to be fully organized and equip- 
ped for its future course, we may glance for a moment at its sur- 
roundings and natural advantages ; and these are the real advan- 
tages that make progress easy or possible; with these in our favor, 
imi»roveiiient is but a <|uestion of time and brain; but witli na- 
ture agaiu'^t us, life is an almost hopeless warfare, as inany on the 
plains of Kansas and Nebraska can testify. Xo skill or fore- 
thought of man can ward off the results of droughts or hot winds, 



56 STARK COUNTY 

or fortify tlicir farms against the inroads of liordos of grasshop- 
pers. ]jut with such enemies the settlers in Htarlv county never 
had to contend. They found a fertile soil, refreshing shade, pure 
water, and a healthful, although valuable climate, waiting to re- 
ceive them. But more of these things hereafter. It is easy and 
common, and in one sense correct, to describe our area by saying 
it consists of eight townships, each six miles square; that the 
names of these townships are respectively, Palmira, Osceola, 
Goshen, Toulon, Penn, AVest Jersey, Essex, and Valley. This, 
liowever, conveys but a vague idea to friends in eastern states or 
in foreign countries, to whom our jargon about townships, base, 
and meridian lines, our thirteen and fourteen north, of range five 
and six east, &c., &c., is as unintelligible as a foreign tongue. 
Let such then, obtain a map of Illinois, and they will find us fav- 
orably situated, considerably north of the middle of our state, 
having for neighbors, or boundaries, as you please, Henry, Bu- 
reau, Marshall, Peoria and Knox counties ; all possessing the same 
general characteristics of soil and climate, the same thriving pop- 
ulation as ourselves. Then let our friends imagine, if they can, a 
beautiful expanse of undulating surface, more than one hundred 
and eighty thousand acres of arable land, dotted here and there 
with stately groves of native trees, w'hile far and wide on every 
liand, in isio, spread the pathless seas of grass begemmed with 
flowers ; but in 1875, behold instead, the nodding grain and wav- 
ing corn in countless fields, proclaiming " our farmers are prin- 
ces," and presenting to the eye of the observer ever varying 
forms of beauty, and during summer and autumn every varying 
hue of color, frc^n russet brown to freshest green. As further 
autlKjrity on this point, we quote again from Clittbrd's " History 
of Stark County." 

" The ideas once entertained of our i)rairies were widely variant 
from their true character. Instead of their being low, marshy 
swamps, they are high, rolling, arable meadows, and present to 
man the most beautiful aspect of finished nature ; the perfection 
of the creation of the material world, the prairie with open bo- 
som invites the husliandman to draw from it endless sui)plies of 
nourishment with tlie least possible labor. Without any percep- 
tible impoverishment, its bounteous richness seems adequate to 
the wants of a whole world of appetitive beings. Centuries upon 
centuries must have l)een required to i>erfect the work of drifting 
from the northern and eastern i)art of the continent the elements 
which enter into the composition of our Illinois soil. The rich- 
ness of a continent has been drained and deposited u[)()u the coal 



AXD ITS PIONEERS. - 57 

bearing rocks of the west, by the " drift agency," to the depth of 
sometimes several hundred feet, in such a manner as to produce 
the best conceival)le agricultural regions. Tlie productive wealth 
of our i>rairie soil would seem inexhaustilile for centuries to 
come ; if tlie surface should become weak and poor, agricultural 
chemists and geologists inform us that we may strengthen and 
renew it by throwing up the subsoil, and continue thus to renew 
it until we reach down to the coal l^earing rock ; of course there 
will have to be great improvements in subsoil plows to raise the 
soil from any such depth, and until something of the kind is in- 
vented it might be advisable for farmers to preserve the surface 
as long as i)racticable by rotation of crops and invigorating agen- 
cies. This vast deposit of drifted materials has l)een spread over 
the surface in a manner to challenge our admiration of the i>erfec- 
tion with which the work has been accomplislied ; so even and 
just have been its distribution and so well designed the plan for 
its preservation, we can find no other spot on the face of the globe 
that rivals or a})proaches it. It was not laid upon the mountain 
side to be washed away to the ocean, but spread in gentle undula- 
tion over an even surface, sufficiently sloping to escape inundation; 
and for centuries it has fattened on itself by consuming its own 
productions. 8uch in a word is the fertility and dumbility of the 
prairie soil of jllinois and of 8tark county. Illinois has been 
called the garden of the west ; may we not say in addition that 
Little Stark is the garden of Illinois? iJr. Kirtland, of Ohio, 
.says: 'The state of Illinois with its prairies, groves, lakes, flora 
and soil, is a most perfect garden of itself, on a scale so unlimited 
and in a style so inimitable that all attempts of man at changing 
or improving, look like i)uerile efforts at marring the beauties 
furnished him at the hand of the Creator.' For those whose 
spirits are pure, who love the works of nature in their expanded 
beauty, no scene can more excite their admiration, or more de- 
light their senses than a vitw of a western prairie at spring tide, 
when in its native and wild loveliness, it bloomed and blushed in 
the beauty of maiden innocence. Every day did it array itself in 
fresh garlands of flowers, so that the eye never wearied through its 
unchangeable appearance, but continually dwelt upon its ever 
varying beauties with swelling emotions of delight and intensi- 
fied admiration. Daily new 1)looming flowers besj)angled the 
green lawn, ever presenting to man an infinite variety of forms 
of loveliness. Such in short, was the western prairies, of which 
human langviage limjis an ineflPectual description." And at the 
present date, groves the husl)andman has planted and nursed, 



58 STARK COUNTY 

must exccfd in niiml)er those of native jiTowth, to say nothing- of 
orchards and fruit bearinii,- trees. 

So the old notion that tliis county wouhl some day suffer for 
lack of timber is forever exi)l()ded. Yet tliis was a real fear in 
the minds of many during tlie iirst settlement. 

.So intelligent a i)ioneer as Benjamin Smith, is said t*^ have left 
his first location at Fraker's Grove, '' because there was not tim- 
ber enough there to support schools and churches." 

Of course, our systems of railroads, oj^ening- up to us the pine 
forests of the north for l)uilding and fencing- purposes, convenien- 
ces that hardly came witiun the pioneer's ken, have rendered us 
nearly independent of native lumber, while exhaustless coal beds 
put the question of fuel forever at rest. Nevertheless, we cannot 
spare our native groves ; if we are not compelled to saw them in- 
to boards or burn them in order to be comfortable, we can afford 
to preserve them that they may subserve our interests as they 
were designed to do, in more subtile but not less important direc- 
tions, in securing desirable atmospheric changes, and protecting 
the earth's surface from suffering too rapid an evaporation of mois- 
ture. 

It has been the fashion of soma writers to speak disparagingly 
of our trees. " We have nothing worthy to be called majestic 
trees," says one. Well ; another has said " all things are compar- 
ative," and perhaps with the pines of California, those giants of 
the Pacific slopes, or with that historic tree on the banks of the 
Indus, beneath whose protecting arms we read, Alexander shel- 
tered an army, ours may not compare, but they are useful, and 
great, and grand, for all that. 

And when at the call of siiring the tender leaves and 
sprouting grass come forth, and wild plum and crab apple don 
their perfumed robes of i)ink and white, with hawthorn, dog- 
wood, and red Inid following in their train each with a wealth of 
bud and blossoms ; while anemones, Inittercups and violets gem 
the earth beneath our feet, we need hardly sigh for pleasanter re- 
sorts or more inii^osing trees — for above all these spring- time beau- 
ties, tower the oaks and maple<, the walnuts, liickories and elms, 
that make up the mass of our woods. 

And it can be decided by reference to the maps, that our terri- 
tory is well watered, although we can claim no navigable rivers 
or great water power for manufacturing and milling purposes. 
Spoon river, did at an early day furnish many available mill 
seats, and would i>robably still be turned to greater account in 
that way, had not experience taught our settlers that steam pow- 



AXD ITS nONKERS. 59 

er is a surer (lependence liere, and cheaper in the end. This 
stream rises n(n-tli of our lines, in tlie form of two branch- 
es or " forks," one taking- its rise in Henry, the other in Bureau 
county. Tlie east fork traverses Osceohi, the west, Ehuira town- 
ship uniting tlieir waters a little above Modena, in Toulon town- 
ship—which place has long been known as the seat of Fuller's 
mill. It continues its course through Toulon and Essex townships 
and receives the tribute of Indian creek before i)assing into Peo- 
ria county, and that of AValnut creek soon after, the latter trav- 
ersing most of Goshen and West Jersey townships. Valley has 
Camping creek and Mud Ilun. Besides, we have Jack creek and 
Jug Run, Cooper's Defeat and Fitch creek ; not a very euphonious 
nomenclature surely ! 

But it would probably be difficult to change it at this day. 
These names were doubtless suggested to our pioneers by current 
circumstances ; what the circumstances were it is nf»w hard to de- 
termine. The name Spoon river, has V)een a riddle to many. 
But, as this stream was know^i and settled near its mouth long 
before its windings had been traced through these parts, it is fair 
to infer that it was named in the neighborhood of Havana. 

The Indians called it " ^Maquon" or Feather river, and it is to 
be regretted their nomenclature was not adopted, in this as in 
many other instances. Walnut creek, doubtless takes its name 
from Walnut Grove, in which, or near which it rises ; and as its 
course lies through a fine growth of this timl)er, the name seems 
appropriate, as was also that of Indian creek when first seen by 
white men — many Indian villages being located along its banks, 
relics of which remained till quite recently. 

Camping Ilun and Camping Grove, were really famous camp- 
ing places for teamsters and movers along the old Peoria and (ia- 
lena stage route. 

Mud Run and .lug Riin an' suggestive of nothing pleasant to 
a correct taste, while the legends concerning Jack creek and 
" Coojjcr's Defeat " ar(! so contradictory that one is at a loss what 
to accept, or wiiether to reject them all, as unworthy of notice. 
But whatever we may tliiidv of the names, the streams are invalu- 
able to us, furnishing supplies of water for the flocks and herds of 
the farmer, marking their courses Ijy lines of increased verdure 
and fertility. Many of these are truly beautiful and romantic, 
sometimes running between high overhanging liluffs, adorn(!d 
with trees and vines in profusion, and again at another part of 
their course reaching the open i)rairie, dance in the uninterrupted 
sunlight. 



CO STARK COUNTY 

These streams are none of them so rapid in their currents as 
those that traverse rocky or mountainous regions ; yet few, if 
any, are slow enough to allow of standing water, unless when the 
extreme heats of autumn have so reduced their volume, as to 
make them a succession of dreary pools. This, however, seldom 
happens ; when it does, the dwellers near by have to fortify them- 
selves against ague or malarial fevers. These diseases used at 
times to prevail to a great extent, when the surface of the soil was 
iirst broken and a rank vegetation was everywhere to decay. In 
1838 they swept over the country with epidemic force, and a 
large proportion of the population was prostrated. But few, if any 
deaths occurred, however, from these complaints. In 1840, sick- 
ness assumed a much more serious type, dysentery in its worst 
form prevailing in some of the settlements, and typhoid fever in 
others. Both were attended with great fatality. In 1846 fever 
and ague, perhaps, made its last general onslaught on the settlers 
of Stark. At this date one tirm of pioneer physicians claim to 
have had fifteen hundred cases of this kind under treatment, and 
to have used in one season over eighty ounces of quinine ! for 
which unheard of prices had to be paid, as at times even the Chi- 
cago market was exhausted, so great was the demand throughout 
the state. There exists now in the minds of many, what we can 
but call a prejudice against this remedy, for a more careful inves- 
tigation of the demand of the human system under given condi- 
tions, and a more thorough study of the history of malarious 
countries will convince the most sceptical, that such regions could 
never be populated without the aid of quinine or its equivalent, 
Peruvian bark. 

But danger from malaria is pretty much a thing of the past ; 
our jNI. D's have long held it under control, and dread it no more 
than an outbreak of measles or whooping cough, which latter 
ailments, some consider necessary to the perfection of the race. 
And our county has been singularly free from more serious epi- 
demics for many years. Small pox, cholera, scarlet fever and 
diptheria have all made their appearance at some time in our his- 
tory, but only in sporadic cases, never assuming the proportions of 
epidemics. And although sickness and death are here, as every- 
where, they may often be attributed to an ignorance of, or disobe- 
dience to the laws of health, and seldoin to tlie influence of climate, 
which though subject to the extremes of heat and cold, may 
yet be considered in the main, healthy and invigorating. 

We shall now conclude this third chapter on Stark county by a 
few comments on its groves and roads. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 61 

These groyes were all marked jilaces ; in the early settlement of 
the county their names were familiar to western men while the 
prairies were yet terra inrrx/nito. 

The lirst roads struck from point to point of timber as directly 
as possible ; and for this, many good reasons could be given. The 
first public traveled highwiiy (made })y white men) in Stark 
county, was a state road from Knoxville to Galena ; it crossed 
Walnut creek and struck the present western line of our county 
near the south-west corner of Goshen township. Then it made 
for the timber south of the present site of Toulon, near the old resi- 
dence of Elijah ^NlcClennahan, sen., the place, so famous as a po- 
litical rendezvous, now owned by Benjamin Turner, Esq.; thence 
to the grove near Holgate's, thence to Boyd's grove, to Dixon, &c., 
&c. Many a man still living can recall how in the years long 
past, when bewildered on the ijathless prairie, perhaps half blind- 
ed by the driving storm, he strained his eyes to catch in the dim 
distance the outline of some grove — the only l)eacon to guide his 
steps ; and perhaps his only hope of food or shelter lay in finding 
the cabin nestled within its bosom. Such men can tell you how 
the lines of travel came to converge at these points of timber. 
Indian trails, and there were many of them crossing our county, 
were of great assistance to the first settlers. They were narrow, 
sunken roads, sometimes almost trenches worn by the feet of the 
savages and their ponies always going in single file ; they led as 
directly from point to point as the nature of the ground permitted, 
the routes being wisely chosen, and the water courses easily ford- 
ed on these trails, and your genuine pioneer trusted them implic- 
itlv. 

But the traveler through our woods or prairies no longer needs 
their guidance, nor has he to consult the sun or stars, or carry a 
pocket comijass by which to steer his course. Our present sys- 
tem of highways is perhaps as good as could be devised. They 
intersect every nook and corner of our territory, and a large 
amount of time and money are spent annually to keep them in 
repair. But this is a hard country in which to secure good roads 
for all seasons. (Jurs cannot l)e surpassed sometimes. Level and 
smooth, almost as a race course, they seem perfectly adapted for 
light carriages and invite fast driving as few other roads do. But 
see them again, esi)ecia]ly in the early spring, and to use a cur- 
rent ithrase," tlie bottom seems to have fallen out," they are almost 
or altogether impassaljle on account of mud ; and such mud ; only 
the rich alluvial deposit of the drift region can furnish sucli ; and 
while these qualities of the soil are the basis (jf our prosperity, 



62 ' 8TARK COUNTY 

this condition of our roads is an unmitigated nuisance, and one 
not easily abated in a county so scantily supplied with stone or 
gravel. 

But we will hope the future may develop some genius who will 
either invent or discover material to make solid roads across our 
prairies ; this fortunate individual would not only amass wealth 
for himself, but would properly be deemed a public benefactor. 



AND ITS nOXEERS. 63 



CHAPTER IV. 

Publie Enterprises — Renf/ioiis, Edwafional, Benevolenf, MtHtarjj 
and Business. 

Of the i)iil)lie enterprises of our citizens, perhaps the relig'ious 
are of the first importance, as sliapin<>' in a g-reat degree the morals 
of community. And to tliem, Htark county has ever given a lib- 
eral support, altliough it has always embraced within its limits a 
strong infusion of wliat may be termed sceptical or rationalistic 
sentiment, as the best informed ministers of whatever faith will 
readily admit. Still, not a neighborhood now, ))ut has its church 
organizations, and hardly one but has its comfortable house or 
houses of worship. 

It has lieen the aim of the writer to gather the leading facts of 
all these bodies ; but with the means at hand it has only seemed 
l)ossible to attain a partial success, and this principally confined 
to town churches. From the country few reports have come in ; 
and while this is much regretted, we can but proceed to record 
such facts as we have l)een able to gather from reliable sources ; 
these mainly refer to the earliest organizations in the county. 

Rev. Win. C. Cummings writes : " In 1885 I was appointed by 
Bishop Roberts from the Illinois conference of the M. E. church 
to (what was then) Peoria mission. It extended over a large terri- 
tory — nearly all embraced now, in Peoria and Kewanee districts, 
being parts of the following named counties, viz : Peoria, Fulton, 
Knox, Stark and Marshall. I preached at Father Fraker's, whose 
name is of precious memory in the churches, and rode from there 
over the ground where Toulon and Lafayette now stand, though 
they probably had not then been thought of. Not far from the 
present site of Toulon, lived Adam Perry whom I appointed class 
leader of a small society in the Essex settlement, and where we 
held a quarterly meeting in 183o, at which W. B. Mack and 
Stephen R. Beggs were present. My next appointment in Stark 
(probably in 1836) was at the house of Gen. Samuel Thomas at 



04 STARK COUNTY 

Wyoming, wlierc I organized a society that so far as I know, lias 
been Icept up to the present day. 1 then went to Dexter '\\'all's 
and formed a elass of which I made William Hall leader." From 
memoranda furnislied us by those who took part in these move- 
ments, we can still decide who constituted these pioneer classes. 
The one of 188;"), of which Adam Perry was leader for a short time 
and afterwards Rev. .J. W. Agard, had for members Gen. Samuel 
Thomas and wife, James Holgate and wife, .J. W. Agard and 
wife, George .Sparr, Adam Day, :Mrs. Perry, Elizabeth Essex and 
Ann Carney ; possibly some others not remembered. The class 
at Dexter Wall's, formed in 183G, consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Hol- 
gate (doubtless transferred from the class in Essex because more 
convenient of access) Mr. and Mrs. Phenix, Mrs. Wall, her sister 
Mrs. Asher Smith, Miss Mary Hall, and Mrs. William Plall ; Mr. 
Hall being the leader for ten years. 

Mr. C'ummings was undoubtedly the first preacher of Christian- 
ity that ever had stated appointments through this part of the coun- 
try, although a My. Heath, a Methodist from St. Louis (father of 
Jesse Heath, one of our first merchants and teachers) preached a 
time or two when on a visit to his j^on, about the time Mr. Cum- 
mings commenced his labors here. 

Two Baptist ministers— Elders Silliman and Chenoweth— were 
also early on the ground ; and Zadoc Hall and Leander C. Walker 
were indefatigal)le in their endeavors to advance the interests of 
the jNI. E. church among the early settlers. 

The first cam}) meeting ever holden in this county was in 1840 
at Wyoming, on or near the very ground recently purchased by 
the church for a permanent possession ; the same spring furnish- 
ing water for the thirsty multitudes, that supplied the monster 
meeting of 1870. Xewton (J. Berryman (referred to by a corres- 
jiondent as "a sweet spirited Kentuckian,") was the presiding el- 
der in 1840. Indeed, many of the old settlers still hold the mem- 
ory of this man in reverence. He was assisted at the meeting by 
the two " preachers in charge " — Enos Tliompson and Wilson Pit- 
ner — the latter being the man who on this oi-casion asserted he 
" Mas going to put the devil out of Wyoming, and make him stay 
init." 

The second camj) meeting was near Lafayette ; probably in Fra- 
ker's grove, in 1S42, A. E. IMielps, P. E. The third again at Wy- 
oming, John 3Iorey, P. E. Llector J. Humphrej', preacher in 
charge ; the latter gentleman becoming during the late war a chap- 
lain in the federal army. So much for the introduction of Metho- 
di?-m in Stark countv. 



AND ITS PIONEKKS. 65 

The Mormons floured fjuite conspicuously in our early history ; 
say from 1840 to 1S4() or is47 ; Mormon elders and apostles peram- 
bulated every nook and corner of our territory, and in every 
school house and dwelling- where they were allowed access, 
un vailed tlie mysteries of their ci'eed and told the strant>:e story of 
the lost tribes, as found on the golden plates revealed to the i>ro- 
phet Joseph ! Nor were they wanting in success, but found con- 
verts in (juarters where it was least expected ; some of them sell- 
ing all that they had and following the fortunes of the "saints." 
These were most numerous in the southern and western parts of 
our county, their intluence being distinctly felt at the county seat. 
But Walnut creek is referred t(5 in the journal of S. G. Wright, as 
being "the very heart of the jNEormon settlement." Their elders 
waxed bold, and openly baptized their converts with new and 
strange ceremonies, challenging the best preachers of other faiths 
to open discussion of their differences. One of these debates, at 
least, was held in the old court house, but ended rathei- ignomin- 
iously for the Mormons, their champions failing to meet their 
agreements. It may be remarked in passing, that the man who had 
the contract for building the old court house, was known as 
" Deacon IMott," in deference to his position in the Mormon 
church. However, the tragic death of Joseph Smilh and the vio- 
lent expulsion of the " saints" from their temple and shrines at 
Nauvoo, transferred their base of operations so far w'est, that ^^•e 
have only read of them and their strange doings of late years, as 
of the liabits of a foreign people. It is a source of satisfaction to 
many to know that the "powers that be" have decided that if 
they continue to reside within the territory of the United States, 
tlii'ij mud ohcji the h(trs (hereof, and cease outraging the moral 
sense of humanity. And as their fanu)us leader and acknow- 
ledged head, lirigham Young, is su])])<)sed to be near unto death, 
it is highly probable that fresh nuitations and dissensions aw^ait 
this wonderful comnumity, the origin and growth of which fur- 
nislu's as strange a problen;,for the student of history as the svv'ay 
of 3Iahomet. 

Next in the order of time was a regular Baptist church, organ- 
ized in the house of Elder Jonathan Miner, June loth, 1887, gen- 
erally now i-ecalled as the " old Fahrenheit church," though why so 
named, tradition sayeth not. This gentleman, himself a minister 
(jf the faitli he professed, was a native of New Ijondon, (.'onuecti- 
cut, from which place he removed in 1887, locating in township 
18 north, mnge 5 east, then Knox county. Hero he convened a 
council, of which Rev. Edwin Otis, of Wethersfield, was a mem- 

5 



66 STARK COUNTY 

ber, :uid a church was duly formed accordhij^- to Baptist usages, 
which continued to hold rc^'ular nieetint>'s at his house as lono- as 
he lived, or up to ISU, and afterwards at the house of his widow, 
Eunice Miner. This was on the direct road from Toulon to Lafay- 
ette, about midway between the two places; and it was iinally 
thought best to hold the regular meetings of the church at Lafay- 
ette, and here Mrs. Miner built a house to serve as a place of 
worship, and the church occupied the building for the first time 
on the first Sabbath in April, 1850. 

Previous to 184-1, Elder Miner had appointments at Fraker's 
grove, Wethersfleld, Frauklin, (that is on Spoon river near what 
was knovv'u as Wail's school house) and at liochester ; and at 
most, if not all of these points churches were founded at an early 
day. 

The next " regular Baptist church " was at Toulon. Of this we 
shall speak more fully \v\wn treating of the town. But at quite 
as early a date there nuist hiive been a body of believers organized 
on Spoon river, perhaps in or near the Sturms settlement, known 
as " Freewill Baptist." Of these we have no particulars. And, not 
far from there another variety, femiliarly called " Hard shell," had 
their headquarters. But these never seemed t(j take deep root in 
prairie soil, and the few specimens left us appear fossilized, and 
remind one of the production of a by-gone age. 

The first Presl)yterian church in the county, was planted at Os- 
ceola, June 8th, 1S39. The record states that "■ John Davis, a reg- 
ularly ordained Elder from Providence church, Tennessee, pre- 
sided, and received into fellowship Polly Davis his wife, Marga- 
ret, Frances and Rosanna Davis his daughters, also Helen Bry- 
don, Thomas Oliver and Margaret his wife, Kobert Turnbull and 
ISIargaret his wife, John Turnbull and ]\[argaret his wife, Calvin 
Winslow and Betsey his wife, William Parks and Agnes his wife, 
Mary Wiseman, Sarah Spencer, Hannah Pike, Hannah Fuller, 
Margaret Moore, and Adam Oliver, all on certificate." 

We doubt if any other religious organization M-ithin our borders 
sprang into life with such an array of names as this ; and we here 
mean no play upon the frequent recurrence of the name Margaret^ 
although that is singular; but whether considered numerically, 
or as to character and standing, it was a strong church for the 
time when it was formed ; and it was no child's play, but a solemn 
compact of mature men and women to make their influence felt 
for good in forming the opinions and habits of this new county. 
And the record farther says that "William Parks, who had 
been an ordained Elder in Virginia, was duly elected with John 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 67 

])avis, ruling JOldcrs in thi.sc-hiuvl) ; tliat they (leelarodthoir accep- 
tance of the oltice, and covenanted to dischar<ie tlie duties thereof, 
accord! nf;- to the rules h\i(l down in The Confession of FaitJi and 
Book of J)iscii)line of the Presl)yterian cliurch in the United 
iStates." Williani Parks was also elected clerk of session. Octo- 
ber 27th, IH.'J!), Lil)erty .Stone and .Julia his wife were baptised 
and received into the communion of the church, and November, 
1S41, ]Jetsey Oliver, Charlotte Oliver, Eliza Parks and Rebecca 
Currier were added to the number. Thus did this" church in the 
wilderness " continue to draw t(; itself elements of strenj^th, until 
its membership numb(?red more than forty persons. 

They seem never to have had a resident pastor. The names of 
R. B. Dobbins and W. .J. Frazcr ai)i)ear as moderators in some of 
the first entries ; later, E. Scudder ]li<^h seems to have i)resided 
at their business meetings, and conducted the services on the 
.Sabbath. But none of these gentlemen ever resided in our 
county for any length of time. Mv. Frazer was from Knoxville, 
a man of good ability, and well informed ; he was an unrelenting 
opponent of abolitionism, which he " smote hip and tliigh," on 
many memorable occasions. He nmst have met with some sup- 
poi't among his hearers, yet his sentiments could not fail of of- 
fending many of those who constituted this old church. 

Rev. ?]. Scudder High resided in or near Tiskilwa, was of bach- 
elor proclivities, and many anmsing reminiscences of him are still 
l^reserved among the old settlers. Coming a long distance to 
minister to them, he naturally made long visits, and preached 
long sermons. One benevolent old gentleman, at another ])oint in 
the county, was so moved by the evident weariness and discom- 
fort of the little folks on these occasions, that he provided himself 
with a large pan of " doughnuts," which he passed round about 
noon to the great relief of the hungry childreji, and aj)parently 
without in the least attracting the attention of the reverend 
.speaker, or breaking the thread of his dis(;ourse. 

Mr. Vail, a minister from Wethersfield, and long time a mis- 
sionary to the western Indians, lal)ored at Osceola as early as the 
winter of 18."}7. His first api)ointments were at the house of Wil- 
liam Hall, and afterwards at the school house on the state road, 
where this church was organized ; but as the name of Vail does 
not appear on the records, he evidently was not employed by 
them, although they must have formed part of his congregation 
for years. He was jii'obaljly supported in part, by " 'J'he Jlome 
Missionary Society," and was a Congregationalist, while this 
Osceola church was " true blue Presbyterian." These differences 



08 STARK COUNTY 

were just making themselves felt hero in those days, and later, 
cut quite a tiiiure in relifi^ious circles. Plowever this body con- 
tinued to tlourish fur some years, to hold its " sessions " and was 
regularly represented in Piesbytery and Synod up to I80O. This 
was one of the points where Rev. 8. G. Wright labored during- 
the first part of his minis'trations in Stark county. But owing 
principally to changes of residence among its members the organ- 
ization has of late yeai's disbanded. Death, too, claimed his own 
among them as elsewhere. The funeral of 3[r. .John Davis, their 
first elder, took place in less than a year after the formation of the 
church, August, 1.S4(), and was one of the first, if not the first fun- 
eral of an adult witnessed in the infant settlement. The Scotch 
element withdrew to form a cluirch more peculiarly their own, 
on the prairie west of the river, and others have been transferred 
to the church at Toulon. Tlius has the old body been disintegra- 
ted by natural causes, and not ceased to exist because her found- 
ers forgot their trust or forsook their colors ; most of them have 
long since "joined the hosts across the flood." 

The Congregational church at Toulon was probably the second 
or third organized by that denomination in our county ; but is 
the oldest now in existence. There was a small body of this sort 
near our south county line, when S. CI. Wright resided there, 
whose formation, doubtless antedates this at Toulon ; and about 
the same date we find mention of one at I^afayette, say 1S41 or 
18-12. But of these we have been able to learn little more than the 
fact of their existence, and as " their candlesticks have been long- 
since removed out of their places," perchance their history will 
forever remain unwritten. 

The first "Christian church," was also near the south county 
line, in the Pratz neighborhood, under the pastoral care of Rev. 
Milton King, the same wlio subsequently helped form churches 
of that faith in Toulon and Lufayette. These are pretty much all 
the facts we have been able to gather regarding the pioneer 
churches of our county exclusive of tiie towns. Of those that 
have sprung up at a later date, we Inue to record a few items, rel- 
ative to the churches in Elmira, furnished us by R^v. J. M. Hen- 
derson, pastor of the United Presbyterian church of that place. 
He states: " this organization, (the United Presbyterian) was first 
organized June loth, 1850, by Rev. X. C. Weede, then of Marshall 
county, with a membership of eighteen persons, mostly drawn 
from the ' Old School Presbyterian ' congregation in the neigh- 
borhood." tiere we understand reference is made to the mother 
church at Osceola, of which we have given an account. 



AND IT.S PIONEERS. 69 

This church was originally known as " The Associate Reform- 
ed Congreg-ation of Osceola," changed in 18-")2 from Osceola to El- 
mira to correspond with the name (jf the nearest post oftice. And 
the Associate, and Associate Reform churches, of the United 
States being formally united in May, 1858, the congregaticMi be- 
came by that union "The United Presbyterian congregation of 
Elmira," by which name it is still recognized. Frojii its forma- 
tion till 1857 it was under the pastoral care of Rev. N. C. Weede. 
From April, 1857, till September, 1865, Rev. .John M. Graham, 
formerly of New York, took charge of its spiritual interests, and 
was succeeded by Rev. J. H. Montgomery until 1873, since 
which date Rev. J. M. Henderson, formerly of Monmoutli, has 
been its pastor. The membership never has been very large, al- 
though a steady increase is noticeable. Whole number enrolled 
thus far is two hundred and six, present strength, seventy. 

In the spring of 186-1 a considerable number left this congrega- 
tion to constitute the "Knox Church of Elmira," which is in 
connection with the Canada Presbyterian church. Much interest 
attaches to this Knox church, partly liecause its communicants 
are mainly Scotch Highlanders, or Gaelic people, and services 
liave usually been performed in the Gaelic tongue. AVe are sorry 
we can give our readers so little information concerning it. The 
United Presbyterian church, as her pastor states, is "Presbyter- 
ian in polity, Calvinistic in doctrine, restricted, though not close 
in communion, uses exclusively the Psalms of scripture in wor- 
.ship, is opposed to all secret societies, especially Free Masonry, 
has always been strongly opposed to slavery, and is in general 
disposed to be decidedly radical in some things, and decidedly 
conservative in others." 

The most encouraging thing in the present condition of the 
congregation is " that it is greatly blessed with peace." In com- 
mon with the Knox church it is largely composed of Scotch peo- 
ple; although there has always been some of native stock enroll- 
ed upon its books, yet the names of Turnbull, Oliver and Murray 
recur the most frequently. 



70 STARK COUNTY 

EDUCATIONAL. 

As with all these topics we design to begin at the l^eginning, if 
we can find it, an account of the educational interests of Stark 
county must go back for a starting point to the old log school 
house in the Essex settlement ; and as Mr. Clifford gives quite a 
circumstantial and correct account of this structure, and its first 
inmates, we shall reproduce it in his own words : 

" As early as 1833, the neighborhood organized a school district, 
and in November of that year, Greenleaf Smith, Sylvanus Moore 
and Benjamin Smith were elected trustees of schools for town- 
ship 12 north and G east. The following season they commenced 
the erection of a school house, and on the 4th day of July, 1834, 
was raised the first school house in Stark county. It was built in 
the timber not far from where Josiah ]Moffltt lives. It was a log 
building ; the writing desks were boards laid upon pegs or pins 
let into the logs by auger holes ; the roof was made of clapboards ; 
not what were called clapboards in the east, they were strips split 
about four feet long and six or eight inches wide ; these were se- 
cured on poles stretching from end to end of the cabin ; the chim- 
ney was formed by a crib built up at the end, topped out with 
mud and stacks ; the fire place was made of clay packed in by a 
pximitive process ; the floor was of puncheons, and probably not 
a nail was used in constructing the entire luiilding. It rained on 
the day of raising for the last time that year until the snow fell 
in the early part of winter. Adam Perry taught the first school 
In that edifice, and it is supposed that that was the first school 
taught in the county. Jesse Heath, a man of very fair education, 
taught there afterwards ; he was from St. Ijouis, a 'good fellow' 
out of school, but a rigid disciplinarian within ; he seemed to re- 
gard the scholars as blockheads and dolts, because they were so 
backward ; he frightened one of the boys so much that the little 
fellow staid at home two weeks in bed, feigning sickness to avoid 
going to school. Heath was, as one of his scholars says, 'a good 
enough sort of a fellow,' but as a school master was terrible to 
contemplate. A school was something new, and children in 
those days were probably instructed to believe that the teacher 
was something short of a god, and had unlimited power over the 
persons of the pupils. Teachers in those days were ' looked up 
to' as superior, and were consulted in all matters of law, physic, 
and religion ; they were supposed to know most everything. The 

opposite extreme now prevails to some extent, and they have 
come to be regarded by parents and pupils something like men- 



AND rra pioneers. 71 

ials, 'SO that insiibordinatiou and a want of proper respect on the 
part of children have now become a just cause of complaint. 
Mrs. Chatfleld, now the wife of Mr. Benjamin Hillard of Goshen, 
was also one of the first teachers in that school." 

Following- this extract are a number of items furnished us 
through the courtesy of our present superintendent of schools,^ 
Mr. Alonzo Abbott — drawn from official records in his posession. 
We have tried to arrange them somewhat in the order of their 
dates, and think they show satisfactorily the increase in our edu^ 
cational advantages. 

By a special abt of the legislature, in force March 1st, 1833, Isaac 
B. Essex was autho'rized to sell the IGth section in township 12-G, 
and was appointed commissioner of the school fund in that town- 
ship. 

The school section was sold February 4th, 1834, for $968.70, the 
purchase money that remained unpaid drawing twelve per cent, 
interest. 

The first election of school trustees within the limits of what is 
now known as Stark county, of which I find any record, was held 
at the house of Mr. Essex, February 3rd, 1834. Sylvanus Moore, 
Greenleaf Smith and Benjamin Smith were elected trustees. 

An election was held at the school house in township 12-6, No- 
vember 14th, 183."), at which eleven votes were cast, and Moses 
Boardman was unanimously elected school commissioner of that 
township. 

The following is a copy of the bill of Mr. Essex for his services 
as commissioner of tlie school fund : 

Going to Hennepin to get bond approved by county com- 
missioner, two days at 50 cents per day ... $1 00 
Bill of expenses at Hennepin, . . .... 

Two days surveying 16th section, at 7o cents per day, . . 

One-lialf quire of paper, 

February 4th, one day selling 16th section, . . . . 
One day detained at Hennepin, loaning money, . . . 
April 3, one day detained from laljor Ijy loaning money, 

$6 721 

(Copy of receipt) March 15th, 1835. 

Received of Isaac B. Essex, fifty-fiv^e dollars and fifty cents, in 
full for teaching a school three months in town 12 N. 6 E., which 
school ended this day. Adam Pekry. 



1 


m 


1 


50 




16 




75 


1 


00 


1 


00 



72 STARK COUNTY 

Received of Isaac B, Essex the sum of thirteen dollars in full 
for teaching- school three months in town 12 N. 6 E., whicli ended 
on the 7th instant. 

July, Htli, 1835. Sabrina Chatfield. 

Received of Isaac E. Essex six dollars and thirty-one and a 
fourth cents in full for teaching a school six weeks and two days 
in Town 12 N. 6 E. 

November 3rd, 183"). Mary Lake. 

June 30tli, 1840, an election was held at the school house in town- 
ship 12-(), when twenty-three votes were cast in favor of organiz- 
ing- for school purposes, and none against. 

No reports are on file showing- the number of scholars in 12-(} 
I)revious to 1841 ; in that year the number is stated at 239. The 
number of schools is not given. 

C40S1IEX. 

At a special term of the county commissioner's court, Ai)ril 
6th, 1839, Luther Driscoll, C. H. Miner and Samuel Parish were 
ai)pointed school trustees of township 13-5. 

(loshen was incorporated for school i)urposes by vote of the 
township. 

October 14th, 1S40— Poll book of election returned to James 
Ilolgate, school commissioner. 

Sei)tem!)er 5tli, 1S45 — A petition signed by seventy-five legal vo- 
ters was })resented to the school connnissioner asking for the sale of 
the school lands of township 13-5. 

In 1S41 the number of scholars in Goshen was reported at two 
hundred and thirty. There were three school districts. 

In 1S49 there were seven districts and five hundred and nine- 
teen children. 

ET.MirvA, 

^Vt an election held at the house of Robert Moore in Osceola pre- 
cinct, Putnam county, on the 10th day of .lanuary, 1838, the vote 
was unanimous in favor of incorporating township 14-() for school 
puri)oses. Ten votes were cast. 

Robert INIoore, Mathias Sturms, Robert Hall, Thomas Watts, 
M. G. Brace and James Buswell were elected school trustees. No 
rejjort was made as to the number of schools in the township. In 



AXD ITS PIOXEERS. 73 

lS4o a petition was i)resentt(l to the school coirunissioner, James 
B. Lewis, signed by forty-nine legal voters, asking that the school 
lands of that township be sold. 

The number of legal voters in Elniira township at tliat time 
was between sixty and seventy. 

The nuniljer of scliolars rejjorted in 1S41, was one hundred and 
forty-eight, under twenty-one years of age. 

WEST JERSEY. 

April otli, 1842. An election was held at the house of Philan- 
der Arnold, township 12-"), for the purpose of voting for or 
against incorporating for school purposes. Twenty-two votes 
were cast for, and none against incorporation. 

In 1845, one hundred and six children and two districts were re- 
ported. 

September Kith, ls4"), petition for the sale of school lands pre- 
sented to William B. Lewis, school commissioner. 

OSCEOLA. 

October 4tli, 1.S47. Twenty-one children and one school district 
reported from Osceola. 

October 23rd, 1849. Sixty-four cliildren and two school districts 
reported from Osceola. Kiley Chamberlain, treasurer. 

. Januaiy 22nd, ISoO, ])etition for the sale of the 16th section, 
townslii]) 14-7, i)resented to S. O. AVright, school commissioner. 
Petition signed liy forty legal voters. Fifty white male inlialjit- 
ants in the township. 

The first election of school trustees in township 14-7 was held at 
the house of .John Shawls, May 17th, 1S45. Fourteen votes were 
cast. Liberty Stone, Isaac W. Searle and Zebulon Avery were 
elected school trustees. 

TOI'LON. 

At tlie I)eceml)er term, 1843, of the county commissioner's 
court, .John Henderson, E. Gill and Oren Maxfield were appointed 
trustees of school lands in township 13-6. 

December 30th, 1843, the trustees above named call an election 
at the court house in Toulon when twenty-six votes were cast in 



74 STARK COUNTY 

favor of organizing the township for school purposes, none 
against. 

At the same time Thomas Hall, Oren Maxfield, William H. 
Henderson, Caleb P. Flint and Elisha Gill were elected trustees of 
schools. 

In 1844 there were one hundred and forty-one white children, 
and forty-eight legal voters in Toulon township. 

To James B. Lewis, school commissioner. Stark county, Illinois : 
— Sir : — The number of scholars under the age of twenty years in 
township 13 N. range 6 E. in said county is two hundred. There 
are two school houses in said township built at the public expense. 
The amount voted to be raised in said township is two hundred 
and fifty dollars, for the year 1847. 

Oliver Whitaker, Treasurer. 

September 15th, 1851, the school lands of Toulon township 
were advertised for sale by S. G. Wright, school commissioner. 
James Holgate was school commissioner of Stark county in 

1840 and held the office till 1843, when he was succeeded by Charles 
H. Miner. 

In 1845, James B. Lewis was elected school commissioner. In 
1850 Rev. Samuel G. Wright was elected and continued in office 
until 1855. 

Rev. R. C. Dunn was elected in the fall of 1855. 

N. F. Atkins was elected in 18G1, and in the latter part of 1864 
or the beginning of 1805, Rev. John W. Agard was appointed to 
fill the vacancy caused by the death of N. F. Atkins. 

In 1805 B. G. Hall was elected county superintendent and con- 
tinued in office eight years. 

In 1841 three townships reported to the school commissioner. 
Essex reported 239 persons under twenty-one years of age ; 
Goshen 230, and Elmira 148 ; making a total in the county in 

1841 of 017. 

In 1843, four townships reported. Elmira reported 174 persons 
under twenty-one years of age; Goshen, 255; Toulon, 141; 
Essex, 230 ; making a total in the county in 1843 of 800. 

VALLEY. 

First election of school trustees, July 17, 1847, at the house of 
David Rouse. Five votes cast. David Rouse, AVm. Cummings 
and Z. G. Bliss elected trustees. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 



75 



In 1847, forty-one children and nine families, reported from Val- 
ley. 

In 1849, twenty-six children were reported. 

In 1851, a petition was presented to S. G. Wright, School Com- 
missioner, asking- for the sale of the school section. The petition 
had 23 signers. There were 27 voters in the township at that time. 

In 1853 there were 105 children and two school districts report- 
ed. 

PENN. 



The first election of school trustees of which I find any record, 
was in 184G at the house of Lemuel S. Dorrance. Henry Breese, Ne - 
hemiah Merritt and John Todd were elected. Twenty-two votes 
cast. 

Petition asking for the sale of school land, signed by 33 legal 
voters, presented to Wm. B. Lewis in 1849. 

Forty white inhabitants in Penn in 1849, according to'the certifi- 
cate on the back of the petition. 

The first report from Penn of the number of children in that 
township on record was in 1847, when 114 were reported under 21 
years of age. In 1847 there were 387 children and 9 school districts. 

The following is an extract from the clerk's books showing the 
ad valorem tax for 1850, in each district : 

Union District, .... 
District number 2, 13-5, 

Centre 12-5, 

Wyoming, 

District number 2, 14-7, 



(( 


3, 14-6, 


u 


1, 14-7, 


u 


north 14-6, 


u 


number 2, 14-6, 


(( 


" 1 12-7 
1, 1-1—1 , 


(( 


" '> 12-7 


Middle District, 13-6, 


District 


number 3, 13-7, 


it 


" 2, 13-7, 


a 


" 5, 12-6, 





• • • f^yjyj ^~i 

85 26 




. 50 68 




500 00 




, . . 57 83 




100 00 




. 45 10 




300 00 




. 63 54 




500 00 




. 300 00 




62 98 


? 


. 145 96 




45 12 


• 


. 44 49 



$2367 12 
S. G. Wright, School Commissioner. 



7G STARK COUXTY 

111 18-j3, S. G. Wright reported that the Eclectic series of 
Readers was in use in most of the schools. Colburn's Intellectual 
and Adams' Written Arithmetics, Butler's Grammar, Mitch- 
ell's Geography. Clark's Grammar had of late been recommend- 
ed. 

September 24, 1847, H. D. Palmer made a donation to the county 
of eighty dollars ' to be divided between the different townships ' 
and loaned as part of the township school funds. 

Report of Rev. S. G. AVright, School Commissioner, of the con- 
dition of common schools for Stark county for the years 1851 
and 18o2, to David L. Gregg, Secretary of State and ex-ofhcio 
Superintendent of Common Schools. 

1851. 1852. 
uS^umber of schools in the county, .... 24 29 

Number of schools taught by males, ... 2 3 

Number of schools taught by females ... 5 

Number in which males and females are employed, 

Number in which both are employed different times, IS 20 

Number of children taught, 947 1072 

Number of white persons under 21 years, . 186G 2438 
Average number of months scliools taught, . . 6 6} 

(Quantity of unsold school lands, acres, . . 671) 

Number organized districts and parts of districts . 28* 34 

Numljer of school houses, 23 2!) 

Number of district libraries, 

Average monthly pay of male, winter term, $13 25t $16 11 
Average monthly pay, female, winter term, . 1115 10 43 
Amount raised by ad valorem tax for schools, 2367 12 1540 33 
Total amount of township funds, . . 9779 64 12062 88 

In 1845, five townships reported. Goshen reported 278 pei'sons 
Tinder twenty-one years of age; Toulon, 209; Essex, 282; Elmira, 
178 ; West Jersey, 106 ; making a total in the county in 1845, of 
1053. 

In 1847, all the townships reported. 

Share school 
nionej-. 

Ooshen reported 430 persons under 21 years, . . . $58 17 

Toulon, 200, . 27 06 

Essex, 281, 38 01 

Elmira, 179, 24 21 

* And lioaril. f Aliciut sovi'ii parts. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 77 



Share sil 


Klul 


lllOllf.\ 




. 32 


oa 


5 


54 


. 15 


42 


2 


84 


$204 


31 


Aiu't m\ 


Imul 


lUOIK' 


y. 



West Jersey, 237, .... 

A'lilley, 41, 

Penn, 114, 

Osceola, 21 . . 

Total in the county in 1847, 1503. 



INIarch 3rd, 1875, Toulon reported 1340 persons under 21, $1020 20 

Valley, 550, 423 30 

Essex, 709, 539 80 

West Jersey, 600, 456 80' 

Goshen, 470, 492 59 

Penn, 020, 472 03 

Osceola, 750, 571 00 

Elnnra, 518, 394 37 

Total number in county, 5740. Total amount of money, $43701 13 
The year ending September 30th, 1874. 

No. under 21. No. districts. No. of schools No. m'ts scliool. No. teiu-hers. 



Valley, . 


. 556 


Essex, . 


709 


West Jersey, 


600 


Goshen, . , , 


. 647 


Toulon, . 


1340 


Penn, . 


(;20 


Osceola, . 


. 750 


Elniira, 


. 518 



Total, . 5740 

No. sclioi.i 

Valley . 
Essex, 

A\'est Jersey, 
Goshen, . 
Toulon, 
Penn, 
Osceola, 
Elmira, . 

Total, 





9 9 


70 




19 




10 13 


89} 




21 




13 11 


86 




2(j 




10 10 


100 




26 




13 13 


lOOJ 




29 




9 9 


75 




>>•) 




9 8 


67 




12 




7 7 


51 




13 




80 80 


639 




16S 


liouses. Tot;il iiiuouiit re- 


Total iuuount 


Tea<-lic) 


•s' wages. 




ceived i;i Vfiir. 


paid for school. 


hi^licst 


lowest, 


9 


$4341 37 


' $3454 11 


$50 


$25 


10 


7894 37 


7092 11 


95 


25 


i) 


4349 93 


3353 48 


50 


25 


8 


5488 49 


5316 65 


100 


25 


18 


19736 55 


18405 70 


111 


2.3 


9 


3945 12 


3445 16 


')^) 


28 


8 


6565 13 


5350 16 




25 


7 


4357 93 


3091 57 


50 


30 


78 


$56678 79 


$49508 94. 





78 8TAUK VOVSTY 

This shows tlie total amount received for the support of schools 
in the county from August 31st, 1878 to September 1st, 1S74. 

lieports to the county superintendent for the year ending Sep- 
tenil)er ;}i)th, 187-'), sho-w the number of persons under twenty-one 
years of age, residing in the county, to be Gl!)i^. 

Between the ages of six and twenty-one years, -1213. 

The whole number of school districts, 79. 

The average number of months that schools wei'e sustained, 8. 

The whole niniil)er of pupils enrolled, 3520. 

Total number of teachers employed, IGD. 

Total number of school houses in the county, 81 . 

Whole number of volumes in district libraries, 57(}. 

Total auKHuit received for the supjjort of schools, $io.")22() 41. 

Total amount paid out for schools, $43830 47. 

The townships have school funds amounting to S12o87 OB. 

Highest wages paid any male teacher per month, $111 00. 

Highest wages paid any female teacher per month, $00 00. 

In continuation of this topic, it is liut just to add to the infor- 
anation derived from these official statements, that at the present 
time our sclioi^ls enjoy the services of a very efficient corps of 
teachers. The standard of scholarship having been generally ad- 
vanced as educational interests have prospered. Of those hold- 
ing state certificates, who are or have been ^•ery recently employ- 
ed in our schools, are Mr. B. (1. Hall, late county superintendent ; 
Mr. Frank IMathews, princijial of tlie Toulon high school ; S. S. 
Wood and W. R. Sandham, principals of the north and south 
AVyoming schools ; I\Ir. Livingston of Lafayette and INIr. .James 
W. Smith of the T^iombard School. And there may l)e others of 
equal standing, of whose qualifications we have not been inform- 
ed. But we have at least five graded schools, and four first-class 
school houses in Stark. The house at Lafayette is past its best 
and will probably soon give place to a new one. 

But while remembering our i)resent educators and our i)r(^sent 
advantages, Ave would not forget those who served us A\ell in the 
days gone by. Twenty years ago Mr. and 3Irs. .Vtkins taught a 
school for advanced pupils in the " old seminary " at Toulon, 
and many men and women now h.olding good positions in social 
and business circles throughout our county, owe them much for 
the culture so carefully bestowed. Tliis couple although worthy, 
could not be called fortunate in life, and they both died while 
comparatively young. Mrs. Atkins in Xew England, 3Ir. At- 
kins at Toulon ; and we are glad to know that there is a move- 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 79 

meiit on foot anif)nji' liis former pupils to erect a moiiuinont to his 
nieinory, in the Toulon Cemetery. 

But there are few who still remember that l^efore the seminary 
was built, and before the Atkins came to our county, that Miss 
Booth, Miss Boyce and Miss Cloodel, taus'ht larj^-e and poj)u!ar 
schools at Toulon, i)erhaps embracino- in the curriculum of study 
a wider range tlian is admitted in any of our <^raded schools at 
the present date. These were eastern ladies. " Yankee school 
marms" some called them in derision, but no ])rejudice could ob- 
scure merits so consi)icuous, or defeat effort so earnest and well di- 
rected. They did tiieir work, and "made their mark," which 
can be distinctly traced through a quarter of a century. 

And in recalling our past educational history, the names of S. 
G. Wright and R. C J)unn must ever come to mind. The former 
from his first residence here in bS41, always interested himself in 
procuring competent teachers, and boarded many of them in his 
own family at rates to suit the pitial^ly small salaries their lalxjr 
commanded in those days. He was elected school commissioner 
in LS.jO, and held the office for five years. During this term he 
convened the first "teachers' institute" ever convened in our 
county, and introduced a regular system of visiting and reporting 
.schools, with good result. 

INIr. Wright leaving the county in 1850, Mr. Dunn was chosen as 
his successor in office, and took up the work with his customary 
energy — perfecting the plan of our institutes, often presiding at 
their sessions, taking i>art in their exercises, and drawing to them 
whatever talent he could invite from adjoining counties. 

When a meml)er of the house of representatives, in 18G4, he 
found opportunity to advance his favorite educational projects. 
We clip from an old file of " iStark County News " the following : 



H I 



The ^tlEMr'.KR fjiom Stark. — Mr. Bateman, state superinten- 
dent of public instruction has an excellent article in the 'Teach- 
er' for March, on the subject of common schools and the amend- 
ed school law, in which we find one of our townsmen mentioned 
in no equivocal or uncertain terms of praise. He says : ' Both 
committees on education were wisely constituted. That of the 
house of representatives was presided over with signal ability 
and tact by Hon. Richard C. Dunn, of Stark county, to whose lib- 
eral views, practical knowledge, and unceasing industry and vigi- 
lance we are largely indeljted for the success in the house, not only 
of the amendatory school act, but of other important measures.' 
This well deserved compliment is from a high source, and the 



80 STARK COUNTY 

people of stark have reason to be proud of it. The school law 
was greatly in need of ivpair." 

But when taking into consideration the present status of our 
principal schools, as given somewhat in detail in connection with 
the history of our towns, we have perhaps devoted space enough 
to the general view of this interest, all important as it is. And if 
►Stark county has done well in thj past, may we not hope that 
with increasing wealth and facilities it may do better in the future, 
and by a wise and enlightened policy, not only place a good ed- 
ucation within reach of every child \vithin our bounds, ))ut by 
em)»loying teachers of superior attainments win for our county 
a proud lame in tlie educational annals of our state. 



BENEVOLENT ENTERPRISES. 

To the cries of the unfortunate, whether near or far, the peo- 
ple of Stark have always lent sympathizing ears, and held forth 
for their relief generous hands. 

So in the winter of ISGO-Gl, when ap])eals from the Kansas suf- 
ferers reached us, every neighborhood was alert to aid according 
to their means, those whom adverse circumstances had so sadly 
smitten. We cannot go into the particulars of gathering grain 
and vegetables, money and clothes, but that all these were sent, 
is a matter of history. 

Jonathan Hodgeson, one of our first county commissioners, 
then a resident of Kansas, came on to ask aid, doubtless, feeling 
sure he should receive it among the people he had known here— 
and he did not go away empty b.anded. We will give one extract 
from the "Stark County News " of that date, relative to the ef- 
fort :— 

KANSAS IIKLIEF. 

Many persons in this county wiio donated money to the Kansas 
Relief Committees, were apprehensive that it would not reach its 
destination, or would be appropriated for other iises. To quiet 
such apin-ehensions we give place to the following letter acknowl- 
edging the receipt of m«)ney sent from this covuity : 

Atchison, Kansas, Feb. 2o, 1861. 
Mr. John Finley, Toulon, Stark co.. Ill : 

Dear Sir:— We received and have used, this day, towards 



AND IT8 PIONEERS. 81 

payino; freig-ht on relief ji:()0(ls, your opportune draft of iii^lLLGi), 
for wliich we have reason to express the sincere and heartfelt 
thanks and g-ratitude of the many thousands dependent uv)on us 
for food, clothing- and seed. We liave this day loaded about l.">0 
teams, mostly for southern Kansas, with suppliiAS, Sincerely 
g'ratefui for your kindness and sympatliy, I have t!ie hon.or to re- 
main. Yours truly, 

S. C. I'OMKllOV, 

Chairman Kansas Relief Committee. 

And the great Chicago fire of ISTl is still fresh in the nnnds of 
ourcitizf'ns. no\v,as the sickening record ftfcfcrc.s'c/'^rrf.s/c^/'^^c?/;/ the 
heart of a populous c'ttij, tlashed over the telegraphic wires, and news 
of thousands upon thousands rendered homeless and penniless by 
the disaster, was l)()rne in upon the miiid, the people flocked to 
the depots and stations, loading cars with everything the needy 
coulf' re([uire so far as they would go ; food and clothing, beds 
and bedding, necessaries and delicacies freely given, a spontane- 
ous out}>ouring of an almost universal sympathy. 

And during the cruel years of the war, the local papers were 
crammed with notices of " Soldiers' Aid Societies," "Sanitary 
Fairs," and " Festivals for the benefit (jf soldiers' widows and or- 
phans." 

By these means large sums of moupy were raised to supply the 
sick and wounded with such comforts and delicacies as their situ- 
ation demanded, and to relieve in some degree the bereaved and 
stricken ones from the pressure of immediate want. 

Here again our women found a field of usefulness peculiarly 
suited to their powers, and nobly did they exert themselves in 
behalf r)f the sufferers on tiie field or in the hospital. 

Scarcely an issue of our county paper during these trying times 
but contained thank oflf'erings from soldiers to friends at home 
for some unexpected but welcome remembrance. Ijint and 
l)andages, choice wines and nourishing food, cooling fruits and 
cheering flowers, found their way to the front and to the cots of 
the soldiers, with surprising rapidity. 

And later, wdien the people in the more western states hav(^ suf- 
fered ses'erely froni grasshopi)er swarms, and " hot winds" anni- 
liilating their crops, and crippling all their business energies, 
not a season passes but large quantities of grain and seeds, and 
young fruit trees, not to mention supplies of food and clothes for 
immediate use, are shipped from this county to these less favor- 
ed regions. This is by no means always the result of public 

6 



82 .STARK COUXTV 

charity, Ijiit i.-> often done (|uietly ]>\ private parties, inspired by 
the purest impulses of philanthropy. 

Then, the children of the poor freedmen are not entirely over- 
looked. Benevolent ladies in various localities, collect lar^'e 
boxes of conifortaljle clothing', and in the tall wlien the weather 
renders such particularly desirable, send them to points where 
they know they can be distributed advantageously t(^ the suffer- 
ing- blacks. 

We speak of these things, although some may pronounce them 
unworthy of mention, because we consider them creditable to 
our humanity ; in fact, these are the kind of missionary enterprises 
we enjoy rather tlian spending- money to send theologians to dis- 
pute the teachings of Conuicius or tlie ]>rahmins. 

Of her own jtoor, " 3Iolly Stark " has not been unmindful ; 
almost from her organization has slie looked kindly after their 
comfort. 

The first county })Oor house was located a little north-east of 
Toulon, on what was long familiarly known as " Adam l*erry's 
l)lace;" indeed, the house was but the old residence enlarged, and 
adapted in various ways to its new duties. But this being deem- 
ed insutiicient to meet the demands liable to be made l)y the in- 
crease of paupers as the county grew in years and numbers, it was 
decided in ISdS to l>uy a larger farm, farther from town, and to 
erect upon it a good, substantial and commodious poor house. 
Accordingly a tract of land described as the north-east quarter of 
section 12, in township 12 north, range o east, in Stark county, 
was purchased from 3Ir. Davis Lowman, at a cost of about §s,ui)0, 
and early in the following year preparations i'or l)uilding began — 
the committee in charge being C. M. 8. Lyons, J. li. Quinn, and 
H. Shi v vers. 

The old buildings were sold, the old farm ])hitted and sold in 
small lots, and the cc^ntract for the new building let to William 
Caverly for the sum of §1G,()00. 

This was considered ])y some an unnecessary expense, consider- 
ing the small number of our paupers, and the project met with 
.some opposition and a good deal of ritlicule. 

At one meeting of the supervisors in 18(39, it was ordered that a 
" landscape gardener be employed to beautify the grounds of this 
establishment," which was understood to l)e a lami)oon for a cer- 
tain gentleman who had coniiiiented severely through the press 
upon what he conceived to be a too lavish expenditure of the 
public funds. 

Judging from the reports of the supervisors from year to year, 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 83 

the inanagement of this institution has heon o-encrally satisfacto- 
ry—all concurring' in giving' special commendation to the matron 
thereof. But when we read that in ]S7G our paupers, l)abies and 
all, only number ten, we conclude they could be provided for 
suital)ly in a smaller, cheaper luiilding, and the surplus money 
turned to l)etter uses. 



MILITARY. 

Going back into the shades of the past to tind the origin of our 
military spirit, we shall reproduce for the amusement of our read- 
ers, jMr. C'liftbrd's account of the first war like preparations among 
the Spoon river men : 

"The 'B:a-k Hawk War,' as the little hostile flourish with a 
few disaffected Indians on Rock River, is called, naturally awak- 
ened a military si)irit in the neighborhood of the disturbances, 
and before this ' grim visaged ' creature ' had smoothed his 
wrinkled front ' and northern Illinois had subsided into a ' weak 
piping time of peace,' what is now known as Stark c(nmty, was 
put upon a war footing. A military company Avas organized in 
Spoon river precinct. As nigh as we can ascertain at this remote 
period of time, this company numbered in ' rank and file,' twen- 
ty to twenty-five members, mostly ofiieers. Their arms (shooting- 
irons) consisted of rifles, blunderbusses, muskets, sliot guns, ttc, 
of all makes, styles, finish, and conditions — some of them with- 
out lock, cock, stock or barrel. Their uniform was not such as is 
now required in the regular army of the United States service, 
but the ordinary dress of frontiersmen, colors variegated by the 
patches only. As our information, which is rather vague upon 
this point tells us, James McC'lennahan was captain ; Peter IMin- 
er, lieutenant. As we understand, tliis comjoany was enrolled, 
and consisted of all able Ixxlied men, liable to njilitary duty in 
the Spoon river district. In ls;>o, or spring of 1834, (our researches 
do not carry us back of that time) the company was called out for 
drill (training) near Wyoming. Some twelve or fifteen persons 
responded to the roll call. Nothing of interest occurred at this 
training as we can learn ; our informant who was present says it 
was-a 'dry affair,' by which we understand him to mean that 
there was so little interest taken in military tactics, it was con- 
sidered a 'bore.' There was the following summer a l)attalion 
muster at Boyd's Gi-ove, at Miuch time there was an inspection. 
Part of the Spoon river company, moved by a love of adventure 



84 i^TAKK COrXTY 

or the fear of court iiiartials and fines, attended. The command- 
ing officer formed his battalion in line for inspection, and dis- 
mounting Ills ' war horse,' commenced his inspection at the head 
of a column; his orderly sergeant, clerk, or whatever he was, at- 
tended him with pencil and paper to take minutes for such subse- 
quent proceedings as might be required by law against those who 
were not ' armed and eciuijiped as the law directs.' The question 
generally asked a soldier who was not armed was, ' have you any 
gun at home, sir ?' AVhere he answered in the affirmative, he 
was then asked 'why didn't you bring it?' If no good reason 
was given, the clerk was told t(» ' mark him down anfl have him 
lined.' In due })rogress of inspection they came to 'Weezner' 
Leek, who talked through his nose. Officer. — ' Have you a gam 
at home?' Weezner^ (through his nose.) — 'Yes, got a kind of 
one.' Officer. — 'How far will it kill an Indian?' Meezuer. — 
'Don't know, never tried it.' Officer. — 'What kind of a gun is 
it?' M'eezner, (by way of his nasal conduit) — 'Stock's broke — 
hain't no ramrod — half the lock is lost.' Officer — ' Is that the best 
you've got?' M'eeziier. — ' Yes, that's all the gun I've got.' Offi- 
cer. — ' Haven't some of your folks a gun ; couldn't you have bor- 
rowed one?' Weezuer. — 'Yes, 'spose I could if I'd tried.' Offi- 
cer. — ' AVell, I guess I'll have to fine you.' Ueezner, ^through his 
nose) — ' Fine an' be d — d.' 

" The next movement of troops was a general muster at Henne- 
pin. The Spoon river company ' mustered the following officers 
and privates: — John Dodge, Captain ; Peter Miner, first lieuten- 
ant, and Sylvanus Moore, private ; three all told. Colonel Strawn 
was in command of the regiment. When the Spoon river com- 
pany was called, Captain Dodge and his lieutenant. Miner, form- 
ed private Moore in a line — one deep. Colonel Strawn seeing so 
small a representation of the Sijoon river militia present, reques- 
ted Captain Dodge to fall into the ranks of the other companies 
with his two men. Dodge had no idea of being degraded from 
the rank of captain of the valorous and formidal)le Spcjon river 
conqjany to a simple private in the rag-tag and bob-tail of any 
other company upon the grounds ; not he. Fresh laurels and vic- 
torious wreaths were not to be so ruthlessly and ignobly torn 
from his brow; he was Captain of the Spoon river company of 
the Illinois militia, and as such he gave Colonel Stra^^'n to under- 
stand at the start, that he. Captain Dodge, would be d— d if he 
would do anything of the kind, requested by him. Colonel Strawn ; 
he'd see him in h — 11 first. He would command his own conqja- 
ny. Colonel Strawn had to yield. Cajitain Dodge then formed 



AND ITS PIOXEKIIS. 85 

his company in the streets of Hennepin, IJeut. Miner assisting-, 
and private 3Io()re was formed in a long- line. Tlie orders, eves 
riglit ! (h-ess ! attention ! were executed by the Spoon river compa- 
ny, (Sylvanus INIoore) in a style worthy of that crack company, 
C'ai)tain Dodge now addressed his command in a lengthy speech. 
He complimented them (Miner and Moore) for their fine and sol- 
dierlike appearance, for mustering so strong ; (two); he spoke of 
the merciless savages, Black Hawk in particular ; how easily they 
had been ' wiped out' if the Spoon river company had only been 
detailed for that service ; how that distinguished chief had sub- 
sided at the very apprehension that the Spoon river men would 
soon be on his trail. He defied the roar of the British lion ; the 
paw of the Russian bear; all the old world; just one 'screech ' 
of the American Eagle through the Spoon river company would 
put the whole caboodle of 'em to flight. Sj)oon river was patri- 
otic, Spoon river was In-ave, Spoon river was the 'strong arm ' of 
g-overmnent, and so long as the Spoon river company was in the 
field, our country was safe and its institutions secure; it would go 
forth conquering and to conquer. Captain Dodge's speech was a 
si)ontaneous effort ; it was inspired and inspiriting ; he had 
brought the inspiration from Moulton, on Spoon river, in a jug. 
There w^as no reporter present, so the aV)ove speech is but tradi- 
tionary. We regret that it has not been preserved in its original 
purity, as no language at our command can do it justice. He 
spoke very loud, so that his voice could be heard distinctly along 
the whole line of his company. After this address, of which w'e 
have given a very brief synopsis, he had his company go through 
some of the most startling and brilliant military evolutions. The 
Zouave tactics were not then known, Init they had a style of their 
own, a Spoon river style, that would astonish even the Zouaves 
themselves. During the whole muster, this valiant company 
marched in order, and as a distinct and distinguished company. 
After the general muster was over at the parade grounds, C'ai)tain 
Dodge marched his men to the edge of the city of Hennepin and 
halted. He then made them another speech ; he rallied them on 
their courage ; he told them what he was about to do ; he ^\■as go- 
ing to take the city of Plennepin by a grand coup de guerre, (we 
have put his words into nnlitary language, as we design our hih* 
tory to I)e somewhat classical,) his words were : ' We are strong 
enough to surround and take Hennepin, and I'll l>e d — d if we 
don't do it.' He said he would divide his company into four i)la- 
toons; one of wluch shoidd enter the city from the ncn-th, anoth- 
er from the south, the third from the east, and the fourth from the 



80 STARK CorXTV 

west. lie was not g'oing- to destroy it, hut was going to tal^e it 
home for a plaything for his ehildren. The next that is seen of 
his men they had formed a juni-tion at a grocery where they im- 
l^ihed freely of patriotism, drawn out of a barrel labelled 'wliis- 
key,' whence they returned to 8poon river, i)erforming some of 
the movements that the 'wide awakes' incorporated into tlieir 
drill last summer, (ISOO) called the ' rail-fence movement.' 

" Some time after this, Captain Dodge was on his way to Henne - 
l)in, when he met a constable on his way to Spoon river to collect 
military tines incurred by tho^e who had failed to attend the mus- 
ter at Hennepin. Captain Dodge asked his business, and upon 
being informed of the nature of his constabulary visit, the caj)- 
tain told him he had better put right back home and never show 
his head on Spoon river; that the .Spoon river men were a desper- 
ate set of fellows Avhen aroused, and that if they once got their 
hands on biini it would be the last of him ; they would certainly 
kill him. The constable turned his horse's head towards home, 
took a straight shoot for Hennepin, impressed with the idea that 
liy his prompt retreat he had saved his valuable life. Neither he 
nor any other person ever ventvu*ed to collect those military tines." 
Kow% ailliough we suspect there is more humor than history in 
the foregoing extract. It has facts for its outline, and as a whole 
furnishes a characteristic picture of the rough side of frontier life. 
The men mentioned were all bona ftde settlers in this region at 
the date implied, and "Captain Dodge," was wont to conduct 
himself very mueh as he is represented to have done at Henne- 
l>in. 

He was one of the few really " hard cases " Avho made their 
home here in those days. He was an inveterate Aorse race-/- and a 
liard drinker, determined to carry his points at all risks. If he 
could not win the stakes by fiiir means, he would b)/ foul, and 
many are the tales told of his recklessness, which culminated at 
last in murder, at the city of Rock Island. 

A horse race for heavy stakes was advertised to come off near 
that placf^, and Dodge had a swift mare which he was training- 
for the occasion. He went, sure of his custon'iary success, but de- 
spite the most frantic efforts to defeat his competitors, he was 
foiled— a rawboned Iventuckian pocketed the purse of gold. 

Next morning, as the stranger was standing on the porch of a 
hotel, Dodge came up leading his mare, and assailing him with 
abusive epithets freely mingled with oaths, demanded that the 
race should be renewed, swearing that the decision and awards 
were unfair, saying, " look at my mare ; you know she is a better 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 87 



y 



animal than yours," ttc, &c. ; " any horsoman v/ill say so. Xom', 
I ask oiu-e more will you consent to try this over to-day?" The 
Kentuekian turned on his heel with a muttered ne<i,'ative on his 
lips, which was never uttered, for instantly a rejjort from a pistol 
^\'as heard through the house, and the winner of yesterday's race 
was a corpse. Dod.ne si)raiif>' upon the hack of his vaunted mare 
and tried her speed as lie had never tried it on the race course. 
Before the people around the dead man realized the position of 
affairs, he was swimmin,2f the ]Mississipj)i, and was soon dashing- 
across the state of Iowa, distancing- all ]>ursuers. Years afterwards, 
his wife's family learned that he was living amidst the wilds of 
Texas still unwhipp(^d of justice; but, not caring after so long a 
time to ro-open wounds, that liad partly healed at least, they 
paid no heed to the intelligence. Such was the sad career of 
" Captain Dodge," whether yet closed, or how, is not ours to re- 
cord ; his end is wrapped in t)I)scurity, or left to imagination. 

But the time came wlieu "levying contributions of war" was 
no joke in the Spoon river country ; and the raising of volimteer 
companies became a business so serious, that even its memory 
throws a shadow of sadness or(>r most Stark county homes to- 
day. W(> refer of course to the outbreak of ou.r civil war in ISdl, 
when tliecannon turned on Fcn'tSumpter jan-ed every hearthstone 
in our land, and wlien tlie President's calls for 7r),(ifiO, .")0(),00r) 
oOOjOOO men," in (luick succession reverl)erated across the conti- 
nent, making tlie stoutest hearts almost hush their tlirobbings, 
and demanding in resj)onse partings and heart 1)reakings, such as 
we liope never to v.itness again. Nobly did "Molly Stark" 
stand the shock, and sent off her bravest and dearest to defend 
the old flag : and how best to preserve a record of those days, 
that shall show to our descendants what she did and what she 
suffered, has been the subject of much jinxious con.sideration. 

We append to this work as complete a list as we could obtain, 
of Stark county soldiers, with a brief official record. But this is 
insufficient to give any idea of the spirit that animated all classes 
of society and the efforts that were put forth, and the sacrifices 
made, ere these men " went fortli to do, or die." i 

It is true there were at first i)ainful differences of opinion, and 
a few determined si»irits, here and there, who opposed the " vig- 
orous prosecution of the war ;" and this only added to the diffi- 
culties of the situation. People felt there was danger of collisions 
here at home, that would result in bloodshed — such as we read of 
in many parts of the country. And, although the union senti- 
ment was overwhelming, as the military record and popular vote 



88 STARK C'OUXTY 

abuiulaiitly prove, yet there was a feeling- of gloom and insecuri- 
ty in the minds of many; and when the news of reverses to our 
arms at the battle of Bull run, and at Harper's Ferry reached us, 
some anxiously incpiired, " what shall the end of these things 
be?" The best that can be written now, seems tc.me in compari- 
son with the real history of this great struggle as it \\as recorded 
l)y the actors and suflTerers, in the form of letters, or communica- 
tions to contemporary papers, as the years of the M-ar unfolded 
theuiselves. As tiles of thts3 papers then current, havt.' l)een 
kindly placed at our disposal by their pul)lishers, we shall draw 
from them at some length articles jjertaining to the getting uj) of 
Stark county companies, and letters, showing the conduct of our 
men on the march and in the Held ; l)elieving we can in this way 
best serve the interests of our readers, and preserve much that is 
valuable in our local annals. 

The first e?ctract relative to the "Elmira Rifles," organized in 
the spring of ISGl, sen-es to show not only how this com})any was 
called into existence, but to illustrate the spirit that prevailed 
throughout' the county and led to the rapid formation of the " La- 
fayette Bifles," and other companies and " squads " from time to 
time, the [>articu]ars of which can now hardly be gathered; at 
least many of them have eluded our diligence. 

ELJNIIRA EIFLK.S. 

The (JUU-evH of Lite Company — The 2Len — lliatoi'i/ of (he O/r/auiza- 
tlon of the Company — The Call — The licsponse — The Departure 
— In camp — Per.soiud Skefrhc.^, it-e. 

CoMMissiDXKi) Offjcehs. — Captain, Cliai'les Stuart; 1st Lieu- 
tenant, Stephen M. Hill ; 2d Lieutenant Alex. IMurchison. 

NoN-coMMissioxED OFFICERS.— Ist Orderly Sergeant, John S. 
Pashly ; 2d Orderly Sergeant, Wm. .Jackson ; .'kl Orderly Ser- 
geant, .John H. Hunter ; 4th Orderly Sergeant, James G. Board- 
man ; 1st Corporal, .James .Jackson ; 2d Corporal, James Mon- 
tooth ; od Corporal, Charles H. Brace ; 1th Corporal, Robert A. 
Turnbull. 

Privates. — Joseph Blanchard, I). W. Aldrich, Josei)h C. 
Meigs, J. (jr. Duncan, Alfred S. Hemmant, James Cinnamon, 
Isaac liannister, Henry F. Davidson, A. Vinson, .John Bourke, 
William JL Flemming, John O. SpaUling, Mason Jordan, Adam 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 89 

F.'ll, Th()in\-< Tarnbull, (icorox. p. P.idier, Pvobort T. Scott, Sam- 
uel IMontootli, C'ouifort IMorfiiin, L. ('. Drawyer, Honry C. liall, 
Aaron T. Currier, John (J. Adams, Walter Clark, C'has. W. Lesan, 
George Crowden, William Doujihis Jr., Henry Burrows, TJeorge 
Dugan, F. P. Bloom, (ieorye Sharrer, Jolm Bkickl>urii, CJiark-s 
Bla/kwell, Alonzo Luce, George AV. Byerson, Cliester P. Harsh, 
AVilliam Ingalls, Jolm Douglass, John G. Lamper, Daniel J. 
3Ioon, Joseph W. I'ask, William A. Cade, Jolm McLanay, Louis 
Williams, John Weljber, Joim L. Kennedy, James Huckings, J. 
O. Ives, Isaac Kinyon, Henry C. ShuU, De Forest Chamberlain, 
James Merrill, Owen Carlin, Thomas Robinson, William N. Xel- 
son, Thomas R?nick, A. \V. Wemper, J. A. Case, David Allen, 
Edward Erwin, J. M. Lam})er, Frank A. Crowder, John Thorn- 
ton, E. Y\\ Goodsel, Thomas Pioljison, Philip Galley, Isaiali Bates, 
William Johnson, James L. Atherton, George Miller, George 
Stone, Springer Galley, 3Iarvin Spencer, George Hutchinson J. 
Drewry, William Newcomer, (xeorge Greenfield. 

DiiUM^rKi) Out. — Jam?s Vuly, John Wo:) I, John Sherry, Der- 
rington Good, John Maher. 

C.i])tain Charles Siiiari, n )t SleArart, as generally sjjelled, is 
I'rom th.e Green Mountains of A^'rmont, a pre-eminently fit ])lace 
for breeding nulitary commanders. The climate healtliy, l)racing 
iind vigorous ; the landscaju' bold, rough, mountainous and sub- 
lime, maive the best cradle for incipient heroes ; besides the moral 
tone of the people gives tliem strengtli and force of cliaracter quite 
as necessary as hardy constitutions iji the field. Men got in sickly 
swamps of ague shaking i)arents, nursed on malarious effluvia, 
i\nd reared in moral and mental ignorance, may mope tlirough 
the world half asleep, and may have l)ile enough to be venomous 
enemies, but never to be great military commanders. Nature al- 
ways in.iparts to animal l)eings and vegetable life its local charac- 
ter. Bold, rugged, dashing, shl)linie scenery favors the growth 
■of bold, dasliing, sublime men, and cice rer,'<a. Men whose boy- 
liood and youth have been i)assed in mountain scenery, come up- 
on the field of life with strong, hardy constitutions and invigora- 
ted intellects — sound mind in sound bodies. Vermont is fam- 
ous for good horses and stalwart men. Though Stuart is not one 
of the Vermont " six footers," yet the material for such a man 
is compressed and refined into his organization of five feet six. 

Captain Stuart is not the birth of the present war excitement ; 
he long ago showed a talent for military command, a strong yx'^i- 
c/'i((/d for a soldier's life, even in the inost piping times of peace. 
Everything pertaining to the camp or field in history, or in the 



rs 



90 STARK COUXTY 

commotions of the old world was always seized upon by hiui as 
the choicest reading- or news. Over a ye ir ago he had so infused 
his military ardor into the quiet, orderly and unexcitable Scotch 
settlement of Elmira as to set on foot the organization of a rifle 
company, and in May, 1<%(), the company was organized under 
the old militia law. Stuart was elected captain by unanimous 
vote of the company. Stephen W. Hill at the same time was 
elected 1st. Lieutenant, and Alexander 3[urchison, jr., 2d liieuten- 
ant. He found in the settlement just the material for his com- 
pany ; the Scotch in their characters are not dissimilar to the 
Vermont mountaineers. The company advanced as far as tliey 
could, but were unable to obtain arms from the state, probably for 
the very good reason that tlie state hadn't any. 

So matters remained until tlie bombardment of Sumpter. No 
sooner had the news reached Elmira, than Stuart set al)Out tilling 
up his company to tender them as volunteers. AVith his otiicers 
and part of the old company as a nucleus, he drummed for re- 
cruits in different parts of the county ; he found no difiiculty, on- 
ly that most wanted to enlist as officers if he and his felloAvs 
would throw up tlieir old connnissions. His company was filled 
and tendered to the government, but was not acceijted, though he 
spared no effort to get them in, and the company was disbanded 
and tiie brave volunteers reluctantly gave up all hope of getting 
into service. 

Afterwards a special town meeting was called which was at- 
tended by the people. The tax payers of Elmira to^^'nship 
turned out generally ; imlike the board of supervisors they didn't 
stop to find out impediments in the way of ))eing patriotic, but 
with unanimity- and hearty zeal they voted a tax upon themselves 
of $700, for the purpose of uniforming volunteers ; and responsi- 
ble individuals on the spot subscribed over $19S0 for the sui)port 
of families of volunteers in service — near twice the amount appro- 
priated by the whole of Stark county for the same purpose. In- 
dividuals, sound and prompt, subscribed as high as $200 each. A 
new company was reorganized under the amended militia laws. 
Captain Stuart and the commissioned officers of the old llifles 
joined it, and unsolicited, threw up their commissions, but upon 
a new election they were all re-elected to their former rank, and 
the company reported to headciuarters. The members were scat- 
tered over considerable territory, and could not well be got togeth- 
er for drill oftener than once a week. Seeing no immediate pros- 
pect of being called into service they went about their ordinary 
pursuits, i:)utting in crops, making brick or whatever else 



AXD ITS nOXEERS. 9t: 

they would have done if the country was at peace. What fol- 
lowed is best related by a correspondent of the Chicago Tribune 
of the 18th, M'hich we copy : 

"The Chicago Tribune of the 8th inst., announced the fact that 
the Ehnira Rifle'^, Captain Stuart's company, had I)een accepted, 
and were required tf) be in Springfield on Thursday the i;Uh inst. 
Of course such intelligence created no small stir in our midst, and 
not only the company, ])ut the wh(jle community were thrown 
into some degree of consternation. 

"And what seemed to add to the ditficulties in the way of being- 
snatched otf so suddenly, ^\'as the fact that Captain Stuart, who is 
a minute man, always so active, energetic and indomitable, was 
at the time in the east, and no one here knew very well where. 
In removing this ditticulty, the other ottivers deserve much praise 
for the promptitude with which they acted. Lieutenant Hill 
took the lead, as was fitting he should, and Lieutenant ^Nlurchi- 
son worked u}) to all just expectations, and all seemed determined 
to let no obstructions prevent them from coming up and respond- 
ing to the demand. On Monday, the lOth, a very large meeting, 
consisting of the volunteers and citizens of the townships of Elmi- 
ra and Osceola, was held to make some arrangements for the de- 
parture of the volunteers. At this meeting ditliculties seemed to 
increase by a dispatch arriving from tlie Adjutant General from 
Springfield, stating that none w<juld be rece'.-ed enlisting for a 
shorter term than three years. At that time the company's roll 
contained 59 names, and in. tvro days after this, i)et\veen 80 and 90 
started en route for the service of their country. At the meeting 
on Monday, a committee was appointed to canvass the adjoining- 
county, which committee reported at an adjourned meeting held 
on Tuesday evening, that between 100 and 200 men had pledged 
their sacred honor and their every means for the support of the 
families of volunteers during their absence. At this meeting, 
also arrangements were made for the departure of the soldiers on 
Wednesday, at 12 m. The ladies, who are always so ready to 
work, were busily employed, and prepared and set a most excel- 
lent and sumptuf»us dinner before the volunteers, and some 1200 
citizens. In the village of Osceola, the volunteers were 
met by two military companies — a horse company, command- 
ed by Captain Palmer Blanchaixl, and a foot company by 
(-aptain Merrill. Three martial bands were in attendance — 
Dalrymple's l)and with our volunteers, and the other com- 
panies each had a band. The whole multitude assend.)led on the 
west side of the church, and after prayer, we had a spirited, pat- 



*)2 STARK COUXTV 

riotie stirriiiii' farewell addl•e^^^ from Geo rye Clifford, E^q., of Tou- 
lon. The de})arting' volunteers and other military companies 
present, were then marched into the chun-li, where four tables, 
the whole length of the building, were groaning under the bur- 
den of good things which they supported ; l)Ut though these were 
so temptingly displayed, prei)ared with so uuich care by the will- 
ing hands of the kind hearted ladies, yet the soldiers seemed to 
have little desire to jnirtake of the food ; their hearts seemed to 
be so enlarged that the stomach had no room left in which to per- 
form its functions. It is a good thing to know that soldiers have 
hearts. After partaking of the dinner inside of the church, and 
the great uiultitude outside, the order was issued to fall into pro- 
fession and march to Kewanee, the place of embarl^iug on the 
cars for Chicago. The whole was under the direction of the mar- 
shal of the day. Captain 31ark Blanchard, of Osceola, assisted 1 >y 
George Gray, Estp The procession consisted of between one and 
two hundred conveyances^ of various kinds. A number of four- 
horse vehicles were loaded to their utmost capacity. Arriving at 
Kewanee, and l»eing kindly received by the citizens of that place, 
the volunteers ^^■ere marched up in front of the Kewanee House, 
Avhere a few parting words ^^•ere addressed to them by Rev. .1. 
31. Graham of EUnhw, an 1 R^v. Mr. R. C. Dann of T.nilon. 
Captain P. Blanchard of Bureau county, proposed that a collec- 
tion l)e taken up for a little pocket money to bestow upon the vol- 
unteers. This being- done, it amounted to something short of 
.$101). It is proper here to say that every mark of kindness and 
respect were shown by the citizens of Kewanee to the company 
about to leave, and to their many friends who attended them 
to this point. Supper was furnished to the company, and all 
others so far as was known by the writer, were pressed by vari- 
ous persons to take tea at different places. The multitude whicli 
-assembled in front of the Kewanee House at tlie time the words 
of farewell were being addressed to the soldiers, has been vari- 
ously estimated at from 2,O0i) to 4,ni)ii. All we know al)Out it is, 
that it was an immense crowd ; and all seemed to enter into the 
spirit of the occasion, and feel that it was an occasion of im})or- 
tance, sucli as never before was witnessed by most of those 
present. 

'• We read here with a degree of mortification that the Elmira Ri- 
fles, citizens of our county, bound to us l)y every tie of citizenship, 
going fortli from ' Molly tStark ' to fight oiu' battles, tearing them- 
.selves from houi? and friends, many probably never to return to 
us, were como?llecl to accept an es^^ort from strangers from a for- 



AND ITS PIONf:ERS. 1)3 

eign foiuity. As niufli ])aiiifiil feeling exists upon tlie [lart of our 
Klniira and Osceola friends because the Home Guards from Tou- 
lon did not do this duty, we have this apology to offer for tlicin : 
First, tliat tlie sudden dei)art:ure of tlie Elmira Uities was not gen- 
erally known to them, as it was expected they were not to leave 
before Friday, the Chicago Tribune announcing they were to re- 
port themselves at 8i>ringtield on the ir)th, and not the l;]th as 
stated in the above corresixmdence. Second, and princii)ally, be- 
cause the treatment received by them at the hands of tlie board 
of sui>ervisors was such as to dishearten and discourage tlie 
Guards to such a degree that it was impossible to rally them for 
any purpose. The just blame should rest on those who produced 
that state of feeling, and not ui)on tlie community here, except 
that portion of them v/ho would gladly break up all volunteer 
companies and freeze out the life blood of patriotism in our coun- 
ty ; men who discourage the formation of volunteer companies. 
We can assure our Elmira and Osceola friends that in spite of of- 
ficials we shall do our tluty hereafter, llight here we have an an- 
ecdote which ought to be saved to history. On the second day of 
the meeting of the board of supervisors when 'our member' of 
the board had moved a reconsideration of the vote appropriating 
six dollars to each volunteer for uniforming purposes, and the 
matter vv'as engaging discussion before the boanl, one said he 
thought the vohmteers could drill without uniforms, and was op- 
posed to giving them the first cent before called into service, and 
another had drilled many years in Ohio at his own cost. A pious, 
devout meml»er of the Ehnira Ivifies, was in town bidding adieu 
to his friends. He is a pronnnent member or Mr. Dumi's ehurcli, 
and a very (piiet unexcitable man — .J. B. are his initials. ]Ie was 
at dinner with the family of the orderly of the Home Guards. 
Now said sergeant can, good naturediy, and we tliink not very 
wickedly, do a good business at swearing ; in fact he is rather vol- 
uble in the emission of some naughty words which church goers 
call swearing. J. B. saying to him that the board of supervisors 
had reconsidered their vote and iie,was afraid tliey were going to 
defeat the volunteers, he clinched his indignation against tlie 
board as follows : ' 3Ir. W., you know I can't swear ; 1 wish you 
would go down and attend to those supervisors.' W. replied, ' I 
don't believe I can do the subject justice, but I'll go down town 

and see if I can't get T , who can swear them toh— 1 and gone.' 

" To return to the Kifles. Captain Stuart has a \\'ife and two 
children. Pie is a farmer and well respected in the community 
where he lives. He is in stature of niedium size and put together 



■9-i STARK COUXTV 

for action rather than I'ulk. He is quick of perception, being of 
quick temperament, and will at a g-lance decide tlie l)est po.-^ition 
for liis command, and will as quick execute his movements. A 
man of quick perceptions is as necessary upon the l)attle field as a 
man of courag'e, providing' lie does not lose self-control liy too 
great an d'xcitaliility. He is a man of warm heart, and will en- 
dear his company to him. We predict a brilliant career for Cap- 
tain Stuart. The r€*sponsil>ility of a commander is great ; the 
wives, fannlies, friends and people of Stark county have commit- 
ted to Captain Stuart the gravest responsibility, the lives, the hon- 
or of their husbands, fathers, brothers and sons, and the good 
fame of tlie county itself, and we shall hold him to a faithful ac- 
count of his Stuart (Steward) ship. 

" First Lieutenant, Stephen M. Hill, is not unlike Stuart in his 
make and 'git up.' H? leaves at hom? a family — a wife, and we 
believe eight children. He is higidy esteemed at home, and we 
have no doubt he will fill his post with honor and credit to him- 
}self, his company and county. He is a native of the state of 
New York as we are infornied. 

" Second Lieutenant, Alexander Murchison, jr., is a young, un- 
married man ; by birth a Seotclimin, but in America one of the 
warmest friends of the constitution, the union, and the free insti- 
tutions of our country. 

"First Orderly Sergeant, .Jolm S. Pasliley, evidently put up for 
the very jnirpose of 1)eing an orderly sergeant of just such a com- 
pany as the Elmira Rifles. He is a young man, married how- 
ever, of the highest order of natural qualificati<Mis for an otticia! 
jiosition in the arm3\ He will come out rais'il in rank. His 
manners are agreeable and he is bound to have warm friends. 

" Second Orderly Sergeant, William Jackson is a young, unmar- 
ried man, eminently qualified for his post. He is a Sj;)tehman, 
too. 

'• Third Orderh^ Sergeant, .T. H. Hunter is a married man, and 
leaves a wife and several children. He is very highly spoken of. 

" Fourth Orderly Sergeant, Jas. G. Boardman is a young man, 
brother to Dr. Boardman, so well and favoraljly known in Stark 
county. He has been a medical student and just come home from 
his second course of lectures. He is said to be every way worthy, 
and will make an excellent officer. 

" First Corporal, James Jackson is a young Scotchman, brother 
of AVilliam Jackson. Every way worthy. 

"Second Corporal, James Montooth is every inch a man. We 
would caution the enemy not to get in striking distance of 'Jim.' 



AXD IT.S PIOXEERS. J*0 

He's pluck to the liaok Ijoiie ; lie's game to the last. If you don't 
l)elieve it, ask that volunteer who stayed in ( "hicag'O drunk and 
didn't g'o down to the camp to be sworn in. .Jim met him in the 
street and just took him out of his shirt and brought the shirt 
back to camp. 

" Third Corporal, Charles H. Ijrace is a young- man, son of 3Iyr- 
tle G. Brace, Esq., of Elmira. ' Charlie ' will give a good account 
of himself. 

" Fourth Corporal, Eobert A. Turnbull is a young niian, a ne- 
jihew of ' Cncle John,' which is a suflicient guaranty that he is all 
right. 

"Had we space and time it would atford us pleasure to speak 
more at length of all the officers and privates. We do say that 
the officers seem to be exactly (pialitied for their resj^ective posts, 
and that they have been placed in their positions with a single 
view to their qualifications. The privates include some of the 
best men of our county, and we are not surprised to notice that 
the company ranks the best in the service of the state, best in or- 
derly, sol)er materials for a company. Chicago papers and people 
so regard them, and justly, too. 

" AVe have l)een permitted to peruse a large number of letters 
received from our volunteers in camp. Some of them we would 
like to publish at length, as they contain matters of interest and 
are written in a style of epistolary elegance and simplicity that 
Avould do credit to the best of letter writers, We give below ex- 
tracts from letters written by one of the privates to his wife in El- 
mira, and not designed for publication. We give the dates as a 
kind of journal of the camp. 

".June loth. — ■•■ * " We are praised greatly for the extra fine 
appearance of our men. We are told repeatedly by Chicago men 
that our company is worth more than the entire Zouave reig- 
ment for hard work or effective service. •■ * * We feel like 
loving every man of them we have seen yet, for they are as kind 
as they can be. * * * How long we will be here is of course a 
mystery. Some say we will not stay here more than two weeks, 
but we do not know anything about it. * '■■ •■ Captain Stuart's 
fani y are here, and will stay while the company remain in 
Chicago. 

" June 14th. — We started to-day from the city to the camp, six 
miles below the city. Arrived all right after a warm march 



9(j STARK COUNTY 

through the t^and. * '^ * We liave a very pleasant camp in- 
deed. 

June l(;t!i. — " * * To-day for the first time, I took my ra- 
tions in eamp. I earn? d;>\vn this morning-; my furlough having 
expired, I was obliged to report. I have been on furlough since 
the company came into camj). * . * ■ Our company was sworn 
in yesterday, but as I was not here, I did not get sworn in ; but 
should I not take tlie oath at all I am bound by all that is sacred 
to my duty, and by the help of your prayers and my own I hope 
to be able to do my duty with honor to myself, my dearly belov- 
ed wife and child, and all dear friends and relations left behind. 
We are the model for the regiment, and all strive to do their l)est 
to merit the esteem of everybody in the v/orld, and Elmira in 
particular. Everybody speaks highly of us, and say our boys do 
their duty 'tiptop.' Yesterday, when our boys were sworn in, 
John Sherry, his brother, and a man from Kewanee, refused to 
take the oath. They were dealt with as follows : Our boys A\ere 
not at liberty to catch them, but the Zouave boys caught John and 
held him until our boys were at liberty, when they concluded to 
part with him in good style, and rather than see the poor devil 
walk so far they proposed to provide him with a conveyance. A 
rail was found, whereupon they invited the gentleman to mount, 
and mount lie did, with their assistance, and they gave him a 
huge ride, which privilege they enjoyed hugely, and after strijD- 
ping the uniform from him and pulling him around awhile, let 
liim go. His brother deserted in tlie city, or rather got drunk 
and we left him lying in an alley. We sav^d his shirt, however ; 
James Montooth met him In the street and stripped it off him. 
■;r * -:j ^^-g expect hourly to be ordered to Quincy. 

"June IGth. — We had a fine supper and well cooked. Our young 
friend Lamper does our cooking, and we do liis guard duty. AVe 
had meat, dried apples, coffee, bread and cake. Our meat so far 
has been fi'esh, and the cake was some that 3Ir. Blanchard 
brought from home. Since the order was issued to allow no one 
to leave the camp, one guard allowed a captain to cross and was 
arrested immediately and placed under guard. '• * * .Since I 
began this we assembled for prayers. Lieutenant Hill read a 
chapter and made an excellent prayer ; every man in the compa- 
ny on their knees with head uncovered. It was a solemn sight 
to see the feeling manifested by our men, brave, good, and true. 
God bless them. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 97 

" June ITtli. — Tell tie Elniira folks that every mwn in canij) did 
really sutler ironi cold last night. It was awful cold. Order of 
the day : ■"> A. 3[., reveille; T)^,, roll call; G, !)reakfast ; s.], turn 
out guard; i), guard mount ; 1)'. toll, eonipany drill ; 12, dinner; 
(J, supper ; 5»l, tattoo to ([uarters ; Id, taps, lights out and all quiet. 
Here we have a great deal of excitement and enjoy ourselves 
hugely. The boys of our mess, exee[)t T)r. Lamper, my good 
friend, and myself, are out playing round the camp, but we feel- 
ing it our duty to devote our leisure moments to our dear wives, 
are in our tents writing to you. 

".Tune 17ta, — You must excuse me if I do not write long letters, 
as our duties are very arduous at } r 'sent while getting ready to 
march. We will more than likely move on Tiiursday or Friday 
of this week ; where, God only knows, and 1 would not care if I 
had my watch and some money." 

This (organization, which became after they were mustered into 
service, com[)any B, 19th regiment. United .States volunteers, v/as 
the first to leave our county for tiie defence of the union ; and the 
next we think was the "Lafayette niifies," known after enlist- 
ment as company B, 87th regiment United States volunteers. 

The first named were sworn into the service of the United 
States, in .June, 1<S()1 ; the second in August of the same year. 

"Tiie Lafayette Rifles " were commanded V)y Captain Charles 
Dickinson, a man who would i)erhaps bear "lionizing" as well as 
Captain Stuart of the Elmira company, but penned in the cooler 
atmosphere of ISKi such gushing tributes v/ould appear over- 
wrought. So, we leave Captain Dickinson to be praised by his 
honorable record, and that of his company. They rendezvoused 
near Chicago, at a place named Camp Webb, in honor of their 
Colonel. 

They wei*e at Vicksburg from the 11th of .June, IS(>'2, till the sur- 
render, .July 4th, 18(58. Then went to Yazoo City, had a skirmish 
there, then to New Orleans, and Brownville, in at tlie capture of 
the latter. This about concluded their lirst term of service, and 
they were permitted to come home on " veteran furlough " and to 
vote for President Lincoln, but with ranks sadly thinned by the 
risks of Ijattle and the diseases incident to camp life. During the 
summer of ISGo they were on garrison duty nearly all the time, 
along the Mississippi river, were present at the surrender of Mo- 
bile, and helped storm the works at P'ort Blakely. Y'et Captain 
Dickinson says their regiment was more famous formarchingthan 
fighting, louring the first two years of their service they marched 

7 



'D8 STARK COUXTY 

over 7")00 miles after Price and other rebel leaders. As an amus- 
ing' incident in the midst of many painful ones, he recalls, how as 
they were approaching Brownville witli all possible circumspec- 
tion, expecting- to have a hard fight and perhaps to capture a large 
amount of cotton, they were met by a Mexican general and staff, 
v\-ell mounted, and richly caparisoned, wlio congratulated them 
upon their arrival, and bade them welcun.ie to the town, which 
they afterwards found emptied of men and c(»tton to their great 
disappointment and chagrin. 

Three companies of the 112th, one to the 47th regiment, and 
squads to mAuy others were early in the service, until in 18()4, 
when Mr. Fuller was sent to Springfield to examine the records, 
;',nd found us represented in no less than thirty regiments, inclu- 
ding infantry, cavalrv and artillery service. 

Of the " three months men," included mostly in the i;3S)th regi- 
ment, we can give but liitle account. For one reason, although 
more than a full company as to mnnbers, was raised in Stark, 
they did not unite as such, but squads \\'ent to Henry and Bureau 
county regiments. 

Mr. Ivaysbier and Rev. A. .J. Wright labored hard to recruit 
. and unite these men that they might serve under their own offi- 
cers, but were only partially successful. 

The hSnth did garrison duty for a time at Cairo, and saw some- 
thing of more active service in ^Missouri, guarding bridges and 
cutting off supplies designed for the enemy, thus letting veterans 
go to the front. Not having had a surfeit of such scenes, our 
"hundred days men" probably count the period passed in the 
employ of " Uncle Sam," as furnishing as many pleasant and 
amusing reminiscences as any three months of their past life. 
They were mostly enlisted in May, 1864, sworn into the service 
the month following and lay in camp at Peoria till after the 4th of 
July, and ihen nuistered out ()ctol)er 2SSth. So their term of ser- 
vice was through the warm autunm months, wlien'out door life, 
of itself, was no hardshij). 

Yet after all these men had left, making a grand total of over 
eight liuhdred volunteers from our small county, it was claimed 
that there was still a deficit in our quota of something over one 
hundred and fifty. And as by 1804 and 18G5 all the hori'ors of the 
battle field, the jjrison pens and hosi^itals were fully understood, 
it was almost impossible to induce further volunteering ; and then 
the dreaded " (Zrr(// " must swoo]i down upon us, carrying men 
off", wiiether they A\'ould or no. 

There were some whose iiatriotism was equal to this emergen- 



AXD ITS nONEKKS. DO 

cy who argued it was u necessary measure, let it come! and, if 
tlie lot fell on them they Avere ready to go ; and some we know 
who thus did go, willingly, yet drained. 

But tliis temper was not common. Compulsory ol)edience is 
so repugnant to the American mind, that submission to military 
rule was never very heartfelt or graceful — especially among west- 
ern men. They were willing to be soldiers usually, but they wan- 
ted to 1)0 volunteers — there was an odium attached to the idea of 
being drafted. Therefore, the most strenuous exertions were 
made to avoid the necessity of a draft. Funds were raised in all 
or nearly all the townships of our county, by self-imposed taxes, 
in order to hire recruits and pay bounties to volunteers. Yet a 
few were, after all, caught by the " drafting machine," as the boys 
called it, and had to pay as high as a thousand dollars apiece for 
" substitutes." In order to know how many men were justly 
subject to draft from this county, Mr. Miles Fuller was dispatched 
to Springfield to examine the muster rolls in the office of the Ad- 
jutant General, in the fall of 1S<J4, and on his return made the fol- 
lowing report to the board of supervisors : 

To tJie Board of iSiipern'sors of Sfark Counfij : 

The undersigned, having at the solicitation of persons interest- 
ed therein, visited Springfield for the purpose of ascertaining the 
quota of Stark County in the coming draft, and also to ascertain 
whether any mistakes have been made in the credits for men from 
this county who have volunteered into the military service of the 
United States, would ni^ike the tbllowing report : 

The whole number of men required to fill all calls to the 

l)resent time is !)()4 

AVhole numl^er of credits up to October 1st, 18G8, was . G.Sl) 
From October 1st, 18ti3, to September, 18G4, is . . . 121 

Total credits 810 

Total deficit of county, \'A 

Of this number there is due from the several sub-districts of 
this county as follows : 

Sub-district 72, Essex ai^.d Toulon, 34 

" 78, Elmira and Osceola, ,% 

" 74, Valley and Penn, ,58 

" 75, Goshen and Wtst Jersey, .... 31 



100 STAKK COUNTY 

The undersigned would further report the credits allowed up to 
October 1st, 18G3, are distributed among the different regiments 
of this state, as follows, to-wit : 

1:2th Regiment Illinois Infantry, 1 ; KJth, 1 ; 17th, 2 ; litth, l»i7 ; 
33d, 19 ; 37th, r,S ; 38th, 1 ; 4Gth, (> ; 47th, 81 ; olst, 10 ; oGth, 2 ; 
ruth, o ; G4th, 1 ; Goth 3:) ; G7t]i, 1 ; S3d, 1 ; SGth, 22 ; 93d, i) ; 112th, 
2GS; 124th, 4; 127tli, r, ; Fusileers, 1 ; 3d, Cavalry, G ; 'Jth, IG; 
11th, 2 ; 13th, 1 ; 14th, 2 ; 1st Artillery, 4 ; 2d, 9 ; Missouri regi- 
ments, o — G8o. 

Credits allowed from October 1st, 18G3, to July 1st, 18G4, one 
hundred and twenty-one men. I was unable in my brief stay to 
ascertain in what regiments these last named liave enlisted. 

About one hundred men, (estimated) residents of this county, 
have enlisted in different regiments and have been credited to oth- 
er counties. This has resulted from several causes : Sometimes 
from carelessness on the part of the men enlisting in not giving 
their residence, and perhaps on the part of recruiting offtcers, who 
were desirous to obtain credits for their own counties, and some- 
times from misrepresentation on the i)art of the men enlisting in 
order to obtain the local liounties offered by other counties. 

I was informed by Adjutant General Fuller that in every case 
the men were credited to the counties where they actually resid- 
ed at the time of their enlistment whenever that could be ascer- 
tained ; and from such examinations as I was able to make while 
there, lam satisfied that his statement is correct, and that no pains 
have been spared by him to do justice to' every county. 

For instance, I was acquainted with several men in the 72d and 
0.")th regiments in which we have no credits, and on an examina- 
tion of the muster rolls of said regiments I found Robert Holmes, 
Hcepter Harding, Darsie Heath, Jacob Galley and Jasper Morris 
reported from Chicago, and Miles Avery from Cook county, and 
Lester Coggswell, Joseph C. Hiner and George W. Eckley from 
Bushneil, ]McI)onough county, and George Witter, without any 
residence gis'en. So of other regiments. Our men have enlisted 
and are credited to other counties in consequence of the eri-ors of 
the muster roll. 

My thanks are due to General Fuller, and to Hon. Xewton 
Bateman of the Provost Marshal's office, who extended to me ev- 
ery courtesy and gave me all the assistance in their power. 

I would recommend to the board that -some time during the 
coming winter, when the present press of business at the Adjut- 



AND ITH PIONEERS. , 101 

ant Generars office sliall be past, that an agent be sent to exam- 
ine the records and g-et the names of all persons who have enlist- 
ed from this county, the date of their enlistment, their company 
and regiment, etc. And that the same may l)e made a matter of 
record in this county. Let the brave men who liave gone to the 
rescue of our country l)e rememl)ered. IjCt a roll of honor 1)6 
kept. All of which is respectfully su1)mitted. 

INIlLES A. FUI.T.EK. 

This report of INIr. Fuller besides showing the exact ]>osition of 
the county with regard to the quota of troops, shows another fact 
we wish to impress upon the reader's mind, viz : the difficulty of 
making a full and correct list of all Stark county soldiers. 

' RECKUIT.S. 

We copy the following from the Stark County News of about 
the same date : 

On Sunday last, 23 men went down to Peoria from this (Tou- 
lon) township to enlist, twenty of whom we learn were accepted 
and mustered in. They received $500 apiece local bounty, which 
is about the top of the market, from present appearances. 

In this matter of raising boxnities, cnir monied men and some 
who are not noted for wealth, have done nobly. They have paid 
in some cases as high as .floO, and some who have subscribed tlms 
liljerally have worked with unceasing vigilance in an enterprise 
which at first we considered as visionary and hopeless as a voyage 
to the moon. Thus the township is doubtless out of the draft 
with a large feather in lier cap. 

West Jersey has voted a bounty tax, and we believe will let 
the matter rest at that ; then when the draft comes on issue bonds 
to the drafted men. 

Penn made a contract with some iirm to furnish her twelve 
men at $390 apiece and supposed the whole thing was settled, but 
the agents have returned the money, we are told, being unable to 
l)rocure them. 

Later.— Mr. Blair who has just returned from Peoria, informs 
us that an agent is there from Penn, who has succeeded in procu- 
ring men for that township. West Jersey had better use her 
money to procure recruits, as su!)stitutes can hardly be obtained 
at any price after the draft. But it is "their own funeral." 



102 STAKK corxTV 

We shall next introduce several very interestin^c letters reg'ard- 
in<v the history of the lli2th reii'Iment. We ret^fret we have so lit- 
tle to offer coueerninji- the 47tli, in whii-li Stark was well represen- 
ted, but, it is not our proviuce to make history and none relative 
to this command has been furnished us, so we must content our- 
selves witli the report of the Adjutant General. 

JVews from the One Jld/nli-cd (tiid Twelffli — TJiei/ Pai'tk'ipdied in 
the Battle of Resaca, Georgia. — The Casualties of Coitipani/ F. 

" The tele.yraph has already brouji-ht the news that the <;allant 
112th was in the terrific battle of tlie 14th and l-')th of May, at 
Resaca, Georgia, and tliat Colonel Henderson is among- the woun- 
ded. We are hai)py, however, at being able to inform our readers 
that his M'ouiid, though i)ainlul, is not dangerous. We are per- 
mitted to extract the following from a letter from the Cnlonel to 
his brother, James A. Hentlerson, of this place, dated on the field, 
May loth : 

"I was wounded in the fight of yi'sterday — shot through the 
rij^ht thigh witli a iiiinnie ball ; fortunately no bones were broken, 
as I thiuk; but the surgeons have, as yet, made no examination 
of the wound, and therefore the wound cannot, in my opinion, be 
regarded as dangerous. The ball made, however, an ugly hole 
through my thigii, and I am suffering much pain from it. This 
morning my leg is so very sore 1 cannot move it without intense 
pain. 

" The fighting yesterday was very severe ; the positi(^n we occu- 
pied at the time I was wounded, was a fearful one. We charged 
the enemy, drove him from his first line of rille pits, pursued un- 
til we readied the crest of a bold hill previously cleared by the 
rebels, and within about fifty yards in front of a second line of 
fortifications, when the enemy o})ened upon us with grape and 
canister, with schrapne^ and musketry, and the air was hissing- 
hot with deadly missiles. 

"So far as 1 am now informed, o-arloss was eight killed and thir- 
ty-five wounded. Captain Wright had his arm ])roken just below 
the shoulder, and it was anqtutated last night. Levi Silliman 
was wounded in right arm slightly. John lUiodes was wounded 
In right wrist and the ball grazed liis left arm. Henry G. Hall 
had his left shoulder and arm taken off' by a shell. George Stone 
was shot in the moutli, severely. William T. Essex was wound- 
ed by a ball passing through his left big toe. Thomas Shore, 



AND ITS TMOXEKItS, 10,') 

lli'iiry ('. .Vcklcy iuul Joliir Ilaskiiis were slij^'tly M'ouiuk'tL 
These are all in coiupaiiy F. Sooloy Thurston uiul Cyrus Snare, 
of .company E, are wounded, but I think not dan<j;('rously. (!oni- 
j>:iny ]i had none killed or woinulcd, exccitt Lieutenant B. V. 
Thoni])son, aetin<;" adjutant, who was sli,i;Iitly wounded in his 
foot. I have no room for otlxsr names to-day. No otiu'r ollieers 
were wounded, except Captain Wrij^ht, Lieutenant Thompson, 
and myself. 

"The hattle is still ^■oin<;' on to-day, and wlnle I am wriliu*;-, the 
steady roar of artillery is heard all aroinid me. How indifferent 
men become to scenes of bloofl and danj^cr. I am sm-rounded 
with wounded and dyinj? — can hardly see a man but has the blood 
of battle njton him, and yet, in my own coiulition, bloody and 
wounded myself, lyinj;' hvw) in this dense woods, with a blanket 
and a little straw upon the <j'round for a bed, a shelter (dog tent) 
for a coverinj;', how calmly I look upon it all." 

Since writing' the above, IMr. Henderson received a <lis])atch 
from the Colonel and Cajitain, stating' that their wounds are doin<;- 
weH, and that tln-y will be home soon. N()thin<4' was said in this 
of any further casualties. 

We have also b(>en permitted to read a letter from Levi Silli- 
man, of tiie same date, v/ritten as he said, by proxy, to his la- 
ther, lie o'ives nothiuiJi- additional to the above. 11(> re^^ards IL 
C. Hall's wound as dauf^crous. Mr. Hall is the last recruit w(^ 
sent down while actinj^; as recruitin;^' a<>'cnt for this (;ounty. Jle 
lived at Osceola." 

From the fireufij-lhird A run/ CorpH. — Tjellcn^froiii a I\f<'nihcr of flic 
One Iftmdrcd and Tivel/tli lllinoh. 

Ca.mi' of thk 112th IIixmmkxt Tli.txois Vof;. rxFAXTin', I 
j\i;au Kix(;st()N, N. C., Maucii JOth, bsiJ."). J 
To the Editor of the ('liic<((/o Kveninrf Jourrxd :' 

Thinkinijf that some of your patrons would Iik(» to hear from 
the 112th Illinois, and having a few leisun' moments, I thought 
that I would write these few lines. W(! have seen some of the' 
confederacy. 

Up to the first of February, ISf;r,, we had traveh'd over six 
thousand miles, through the following states: Ohio, Indiana, 
Kentucky, Tennessee, (Jeorgia and \'^irginia, touching Maryland. 
J have not JJiy memorandum at hand to show the exact number 
of miles in each state, or the number nnirched on foot, bul it is a 
little over .'],().')(). We have been in twenty-six general en- 



104 RTAKK COrXTY 

gag-einentr^, and one luimlrcd and ten skirmishes with the enemy, 
and witli one or two exceptions wo have been victorious. On tlie 
first of Fel)ruary we were at Alexandria, ^'irg-inia ; on t!ie fourtji 
we left that place and arrived at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, on 
the following- Wednesday ; since that time we have been on the 
march most of the time. Our first skirmish ^\as in approaching 
Fort Anderson. The brigades of Flenderson and INIoore, of the 
23d army corps, were in the advance. After skirmishing all day, 
Ave (that is the skirmishers of the 112th) lay within four hundred 
yards of the fort. Before daylight the next morning, we com- 
menced creeping towards the fort, and soon found that it was 
nearly evacuated, when we went forward with a yell of delight. 
Captain Colcord, of the 112th Illinois, was the first officer in the 
fort, and the skirmishers of our regiment were the first men in it. 
There were about fifty rebels that had not got out that were cap- 
tured. But no rest here. We pushed on and came uj) with the 
rebels at night on Town creek, a small creek near the field of the 
revolutionary battle of Old Town, which I think was fought be- 
tween Greene and Cornwallis. Marks are still there— the old fort, 
and also one gun, a piece of artillery about three feet long, and 
w^eighing about one hundred and fifty pounds. After fighting 
the rebels pretty iiard nearly all day, they were compelled to fall 
back, with a loss of over three hundred prisoners, besides the 
killed and wounded, and two pieces of artillery. We did not 
come ui) with them again until we got to Wilmington, North 
Carolina. Here they did not stop, but gave up the place, leaving 
a large number of our prisoners that were not al)le to move. Here 
we remained uiitil the Gth of. March, when we started for this 
place. 

W^e luive had on'' of the liardest marches that we have ever 
traveled, it being about one hundred miles, through swamps and 
wading creeks. All of the way we have marched from twelve to 
twenty miles per day ; but we have come through all right. We 
are now in the third brigadier, third division, and twenty-third 
corps, commanded by Brigade General T. J. Henderson, fonn- 
erly of the 112th Illinois— an officer in whom the men put the ut- 
most confidence. He has been abused at home by the Tribune 
and some of its friends, but not by any who have seen him in the 
field. There is where a man has to show just what he is. 

A Soldier. 



AXJ) ITS PIONEERS. ' 105 

The one Inindrc-fl (i))d lirelftli in Vin/iDui. — All ahovf ihe Ueai- 
i)i('}il. — A)} L)f('/'psfi)if/ Lcf/cr //'(>)/) oil,' oil-}) Corresj.oiKh nf. — 
( 'iiiikcr aiiioiu/ the Jiojjs. 

"Editor New.s: — Ujjon j^'oing over to tJio " Xatlonal " the oili- 
er (1-ay to pick my teetii after dinner (•"> o'clock p. ni., AVashina'ton 
dinner honr) who should I discover in the crowd of army officers, 
who tiicre " niost do congreg'ate," l)ut th(> p,-allant Colonel Hen- 
derson, Acting- Brigadier General of the 8d Brigade, 3d Division, 
2od Army ('ori)s, and it was not long before I was surrounded by 
a cordon of officers of the old 11:2th Illinois. 80 unexpected, un- 
heralded as its arrival in the department was, for the once it 
seemed like a vision in a dream, and 1 was carried back to little 
JNIolJy Stark, to the fall of is(i2, when Toulon had a little touch of 
military fever and ex])erience, as the 1)oys were quartered there 
for drill and awaiting orders. As soon as I could jlisengage the 
Colonel from (Governor Yates, I found out what it all meant. Scho- 
tield's brave corps was here or hereabouts. (If this Is contraband 
news I offend ignorantly, and I shan't give the enemy any kind 
of information as to its prospective inovements, because if for no 
other reason, I hav'nt the slightest idea myself.) The 1 li^th was at 
Alexandria, on the " sacred soil "of N^irginia, and Colonel Hen- 
derson had ])een ordered to join his brigade here, and had conie 
on for that })ur])0se. I observi^l that he received a very warm 
welcome l)ack to his command, all of whom, officers and men, 
yeemed very much attached to him. .Vll sj)eak in high terms of 
him, both as a gentleman and an officer. Colonel Henderson has 
the strongest kind of rei'ommendatif)ns for his promotion to a. 
Brigadiershii), a position he has long been tilUng, l)ut I ai)i)rehend 
his modesty alone will prevent it, as such promotions seem to de- 
pend ui)()n assurance and dogged j^erserverance, a kind of brazen 
audacity, which the colonel is wanting in. The officers and men 
us far as I could learn, w.'re anxious for his promotion. 

"Here comes Eldridge with a mail bag under his arm — you 
would not mistake him ; the service does not seem to have used 
him u[) ' muchly.' He is brigade post master, and did you ever 
reflect what valuable loads of love and friendship he daily comes 
laden with to cam}), and what records of heart tlirol)S and ho})es, 
iind fears and anxieties and loves he daily takes to the post office, 
which at the end reaches the dear ones at home? Ah, here is 
Cai)tain Armstrong of Com])any F., tough and hardy, and good 
natured. There was always something good in the captain's 
countenance, an expression of honesty and sincerity and truthful- 



KIG STARK COUNTY 

ne^-J, and hi^^ army exp?riene.^:s hiive only served to bring out and 
clearly define that expressioii. I see Bnshrod ahead of nie — I 
ean't mistake his gait, but still there is a peculiar agility in his 
motion now. I am told he has just received his commission as 
1st lieutenant of company F, and that probably accounts for his 
unusual sprightliness. The fact is, Tai)p feels well, and he de- 
serves to. I am glad of his promotion ; he is a good soldier I am 
told. He looks in the best of health and vigor. But I am getting 
a little ahead of my story, and mixing up Washington and Alex- 
andria. 

" We, Fuller, Farrar and myself, were honored with an invi- 
tation to visit the regiment, wliich we did not hesitate a bit to ac- 
cept. Kaving satisfied the i)rovost marshal of Washington that 
we were not s})ies or bounty Jumpers, or disloyal subjects, and 
having subscribed an oath of allegiance which his clerk said wo 
might take when we got out of doors, we obtained a pass to go to 
Alexandria and return, ' on business ' the pass said. Alexandria 
is not right across the river from Washington, as many suppose, 
but it is down and across about eight miles, more or less. We 
talked of skating down, Init it being Sunday and having no 
skates, and my companions being no skaters, we thought best to 
take the cars, which w'e did. For thirty cents each we had the 
{irivilege of standing up to Alexandria. Of course, our passes 
were vised by a fierce looking- fellow with a sharp bayonet. We 
were soon in the city where tiie immortal Fllsworth fell at the be- 
ginning of the war, as he was descending with a rebel flag from 
the Mansion House. The tragedy is fresh in all our minds. We 
get track of the 112th boys, and are told it was that quiet, well 
behaved regiment down liy the river. The citizens speak thus of 
it as in contrast with many others that had been (luartered tliere 
during the war. The truth is, tluit those men who went volun- 
tarily into the service from motives of patriotism, differ widely 
from substiti,ites, l)ounty junipers and unwilling conscripts. The 
western regiments raised in tlie days of ])atriotic love of country 
and hatred of rebels, are the true soldiers of the republic, and 
none are truer than the 112th boys. We meet the colonel, acting 
brigadier, and staff* officers on their way to brigade head«iuarters, 
and were warmly greeted by them. Thomas 31ilchrist, adjutant, 
or something of that kind, I don't know wliat now, went back 
with us to sli<)w us the way to the quarters. Aha ! there comes a 
familiar countenance, on an officer's horse — 'assure as shootin,' 
it is Charley ]McC'omsey, the hardiest, heartiest looking fellow yet, 
a hearty shake of the hand, and on we go to the 112th. And here 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 107 

we find the boys of company F and E, snugly stowed away and 
piled up in the second story of the barracks, and in the loft, not a 
sickly looking soldier among them, A general hand-shaking en- 
sued. Some had got so fat that I could hardly recognize them. 
William Ely was on hand, the most changed of all, but still witli 
his inevitable ' watch to trade.' William has improved amazing- 
ly in all outward appearance. Here we find captain Otman, also 
looking well, and yet I thought I could discern a shndow of sor- 
row upon his countenance for the great bei'eavement he has sus- 
tained in the loss of his wife, one of the noblest of her sex. I 
thought of bygone days when the captain held the scales of jus- 
tice in his han(.ls in ' Old Stark, while now he was wielding the 
sword of justice in the service of his country. The captain is ev- 
idently loved by all his men, and I believe he well deserves it. 

" Here is Henry Perry, the very identical Ilenry. I believe he 
is orderly sergeant of company F. Ah ! here is B. F. Thompson 
of company B, tlie oracle of the regiment, and one of the writing- 
mediums of it from .Stark. I forget just what he is, but he is an 
otficer of some kind, and a ' bully ' good fellow. Captain Arm- 
strong and Lieutenant Tapp, seem as happy as mortals can be, 
and more so than I would suppose men would feel with such tei- 
rible reminiscences as they must have of the past, and such scenes 
as they have before them yet. But they are true philosophers. 
Our stay at the barracks was but a moment. I must go and see 
company B, who are aristocratically quartered in a building by 
themselves. ' Brad ' leads the way. We see here many fanuliar 
faces fr(^)m and about Bradford, and some we don't see. There 
were many good felloA\'s at Camp Lyon, Peoria, that we did not 
find here. Many whose lives Avere ecpially promising and as full 
of hope as those who remain. They no longer answer at rcjll call 
— God bless them — their memory is cherished by many mourning- 
friends. Here a roll call of the casualties of company B,' was 
shown me, kept neatly in a diary of one of the Bradford boys. I 
could see an unmistakable look of sadness when he showed this 
record of casualties. I took out my pencil and copied their 
names in short hand, which may account for some of its inaccur- 
acies. A thought here struck me that nothing which your paper 
could contain, would be more interesting to your readers than a 
view of the Stark county companies with their casualties. To read 
over these names will recall to your readers many interesting- 
reminiscences, and will be good for reflection. 

" I am indebted to the officers of the respective companies for the 
facilities afforded me to obtain the statistics I hastily compiled 



lO"? 8TAHK COUXTV 

from their ])ooks and otherwise, and whieli I send you as a part 
<>f this hasty sketch. I tliink many inaccuracies will he found in 
them, though I endeavored to cojjy them as well as I could for 
the hurry I was in. 

" To give your readers some idea of the service done by tlie 
112th, I would say that they have been in twenty-five general en- 
gagements, one hundred and ten skirmishes ; have traveled l")(j') 
miles on foot, 2-")ni) miles on horse back, loGl miles on the cars, and 
774 miles on steaml;)oat, making a total of six tliousand four hun- 
dred and three miles. ^ 

" The regiment arrived at Alexandria on th 2-jtii of January." 

OUR REGIMENT. 

" The 112th Illinois, in which more of tlie hopes and fears of 
the people of Stark county have been centered than in any other 
single regiment, has been mustered out at last, and the men have 
returned home, except such as will return no more. The regi- 
inent has seen more service, done more hard marching and hard 
fighting, than almost any other of which we have any knowl- 
edge. The history of this regiment, written out in detail, by a 
competent hand, would l)e a very readable bcxjk for the friends of 
the regiment in Stark and Henry counties. Wlio will undertake 
the enterprise?" — Stark Count u Xews. 

As can be seen by the figures, our contribution to this regiment 
was three companies, but they were the props of many homes. 

In this centennial year, 1876, Stark county has but one organ- 
ized military comjjany, that known as "The Elmira Zouaves," 
a few men, principally those who had seen service in the 19th 
regiment Illinois volunteer infantry, have rendezvoused for drill 
and parade on special occasions ever since the close of the late 
war. Wearing the gay uniform of the Zouaves, and j^racticing 
their somewhat unirpie exercises, they liave always attracted a 
good deal of attention, and have finally organized under the state 
militia law ; and reporting themselves at head quarters, the 
state has sujjplied them arms, and they now meet regularly for 
drill at the county seat. 

They are a sort of public pet at present, being the only candi- 
dates for, or recipients of military honors in the county. The cit- 
izens of Elmira and Toulon townships have recently presented 
them with a fine banner, and other tokens of approval. 



AND ITS nOXEEKS. ,109 



BUSIXE8.S ENTERPRISES. 

Of all the biisines.s interests or enterprises of Stark county, ayri- 
culture — farming — in sopie of its branches, and stock raising, 
must be considered (»f the first importance. But to give anything 
beyond a general idea of their progress and magnitude is out of 
our power in a work of this kind. 

A history in detail of the farming and fruit growing operations 
of the last thirty or forty j'ears, together with their results, and 
an account of the implements and appliances used by our first 
farmers, compared with those eni})loyed now, would form a small 
volume, and contain niuch amusing as well as useful matter for 
farmers. 

It would seem our agricultural society might develop some- 
thing of this kind, which would I)e valualjle for future reference ; 
we ought to i)rotit by the mistakes as well as the successes of the 
past. ^ 

But those of our readers ^^•ho are curious al)out statistics and 
exact statements we must refer to our brief table of agricultural 
reports. We can only say here in general terms that the various 
branches of tillage, fruit and wool gathering, stock raising, Arc, 
all receive a large share of attention and j^rosper accordingly. 

Fruit is cultivated with varying success, the trees being of rap- 
id growth but subject to many diseases, — insects being their most 
dangerous enemies. Some years, however, the fruit crop is enor- 
mous. Grapes seldom fail, except when injured l)y a very severe 
winter. 

Small grains do not make so full a requital for the labor be- 
stowed as in some other localities, consequently our farmers are 
depending more and more on the " hog and corn crop," and sel- 
dom are they disapi)ointed. The fattening of beeves for market 
is considered a paying investment, also sheep raising, and the 
breeding of fine varieties of blooded stock and horses. , 

As a dealer in and importer of fine stock, Mr. Davis Lowman 
of the Green Lawn farms in Toulon township, has probably been 



110 STARK COUNTY 

most coiispicnons. He having' dealt extensively in the " iShort- 
lioriis," importing at one time direet from .Scotland, for his own 
farms a herd of unquestionable pedigree. Tiring however of the 
labor and responsibility this business imposes, he sold out at the 
great cattle sales in (.lAlesburg, April, 1S7G, his entire herd, consis- 
ting of sixty-seven choice animals, many of which bnnight their 
owner over a thousand dollars apiece, all going up pretty well in- 
to the hundreds— making a total of $20,824. It is said Mr. W. Seott 
of Wyoming who bought several of Mr. Lowman's famous herd, 
is going into this business on a large scale, and among the promi- 
nent exhibitors at our agricultural tairs of fine blooded animals 
may be uamed Mr. Thomas Dugan, jNIr. Joseph Cox, and Mr. 
.John Hepperly. 

The TurnbuU and Oliver families in Elmira township, can nev- 
er quite forsake their hereditary occupation of shepherds, and 
have done much to keep up an interest in wool-growing, al- 
though some of them, at least, have of late been more widely 
known as stock dealers. And Mr. Isaac NeM'man of West Jer- 
sey township, has gone very extensively into raising of sheep, 
both for wool and mutton. 

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

There has been such a general interest felt in this enterpi*ise, 
and so'many, not only of our farm?rs but business men of every 
grade connected with it, that it is no ^asy matter to decide to 
whom it is mainly indebted for its present prosperity. The old 
records state " That at a meeting held in Toulon on the 20th day 
of October, A, D. 1853, for the purpose of forming an agricultural 
society, the house was called to order by appointing David Mc- 
Cance secretary, and Hugh Rhodes chairman, and the utility of 
such a society was set forth in a neat little speech by Captain 
Butler." 

"On motion, it was resolved that each individual, in order 
to become a' member of this society, shall pay the sum of one 
dollar, whereupon the following gentlemen came forward, gave 



.■>■> 



their names and pledged each one dollar ;' 

Henry Butler, senior, .John B. Atherton, ^MUiam W. Wright, 
senior, Hugh Rhodes, Benjamin Turner, Thomas .1. Henderson, 
Jacob Jamison, B. F. Boughn, S. M. Curtis, Bushrod Tapp, Jo- 
seph W'ox and William Chamberlain. General Thomas was ap- 
pointed President ; Captain Butler, Wm. \V. Wright, Jacob Ja- 
mison and David McCance were appointed a committee to draft a 



A X D I TS ri ( >X EE RS . Ill 

•constitution, which instrument AWiS adopted by the society at its 
next niectino' in November, lS->>. 

Tlie tirst officers elected under the constitution were H. Rhodes 
President ; ]Martin Slaallenberoer and Jacob Jamison, Vice Presi- 
dents; David ]\[cCance recording, Captain Butier corresponding- 
secretaries, and John P. Atherton, treasurer. Tlie flrsi annual 
report of finances sliows a total of $120. :20 received, $10'). To paid 
out by the treasurer, leaving a balance in his hands of 1-)A^), 
cheating himself to the amount of .$1, contrary to present prac- 
tice. The first annual fair was to be holden in September, 18.")4, at 
Toulon. 

Some still rememl)er that first fair in l.s.")4, when the stock was 
quartered in Mr. Whitaker's yard, and exhibited on the puljlic 
square, while the products of the dairy, kitchen, and loom, were 
disposed of within the old court house, the tal)le containing a few 
fancy articles which a gentleman lifted up, one l)y one, that they 
might be seen by the assemblage. Such will involuntarily draw 
a contrast between those small beginnings and the present exhilii- 
tions of the society with its fine grounds, ample accommodations 
and abundant resources. But in one respect, at least, this little 
fair of ISol was a prototype of all its successors, viz : disappoint- 
ed competitors for premiums felt at liberty to vent their chagrin 
on or at the judges of the various departments, whom they 
though had l^een instrumental in wounding their vanity. 

The writer recalls that she was unfortunately a judge of dairy 
I)roducts on this occasion, and being concerned in awarding the 
first premium ever awarded in Stark county for butter, to jNIrs. 
Ann Hartley, was soundly berated before leaving the house l>y 
another competitor, who informed the judges one and all, " that 
they couldn't know good butter when thej- saw it ;" but they 
still think they did. 

This society has continued to hold fairs annually since its or- 
ganization, with the t'xce])tion of the year 1S(;2, when owing to 
the disturl>ed state of the country, and the great pressure both for 
men and money brought upon the county 1\v the war, it w-as 
deemed best to suspend all proceedings of the society until calk'd 
together by the President. After eight months suspension, the 
society was convened again in April, 186:5, and the ninth annual 
fair was holden in September of that year. 

Stark county people have had great reason to l)e proud of the 
continued success of this society. Other counties larger and rich- 
er than our own, have sustained agricultural fairs for a few 
years with great spirit, but through recklessness or mismanage- 



112 STARK COUNTY 

iiient of some kin:l, numy societies have become Ijankrupt and 
sunken into obscurity. ('re;lit is due to tliose who have husband- 
ef^ tiie finances of ours to hivAi go:)l purpose, and to those wlio 
liave firmly resisted the pressure brought to bear upon them to 
allow our fairs to deg-enerate into horse races. Such proceeding's 
being- against the moral sense of the better class of the community, 
always end in embarrassment and ruin, however tliey may swell 
the receipts for a time. 

Among the earlier presidents of the society we notice, after 
Genera! Thomas, Hugh Rhodes, Jacob Jamison, Isaac Spen- 
cer, Charles ]Myers, AVilliian W. Wriglit and James Ilolgate. Se- 
cretaries.— "D. kcC'ance, (i. A. Clitlbrd, Oliver Whitaker, W. H. 
Butler. Its treasurers were for many years 3Ir. A\"hitaker and 
Mr. Davis L!_)wman. Among its early friends and supporters are 
many whose names do not api)ear on the official board, although 
they were always at work on committees or elsewhere. Among- 
these are Liberty Stone, .John Lackey, lienjamin liouglm Jeda- 
than Hopkins, B. 31. Jackson, Mark Blanchard, Hopkins Shiv- 
vers, James M. Rogers, Edward Trickle, ^\'ashington Trickle, 
Nathan Snare, Peter Fast, E. L. Emery, A\'illiam Collins, and 
others etpially deserving of mention. Of the later doings of the 
society we have no records at command, but know that it has 
been guided along a career of singular usefulness and prosperity, 
and now is able to offer its thousands in the way of premiums to 
encourage the usetul arts and industries of our people. AVe find 
for the fair of 187-'), the amount divided among the various classes 
as follows : Horses, 871l' ; cattle, 8(i(J7 ; farm and dairy, $271 ; 
fancy department, $2.jo : machinery, 233.50; sheep, 190.50; hogs, 
$1':4 ; poultry, $99.50. 

In a county. like this, agriculture in some of its branches must 
always be the chief pursuit of the people. The favoral)le condi- 
tions' of tlie atmosphere, and the inexhaustible resources of the 
soil combining to make it the surest if not the shortest road to 
wealth. In the terse and homely phrase " hog and hominy," we 
find the staples of our trade ; out of these our luxuries must spring, 
if they spring at all. Manufactories are remunerative only 
where large water power is available or where a surplus popula- 
tion greatly cheapens human labor, neither of which conditions 
are met here. Common saw and grist mills were tried by many 
at an early day, but with indifferent success, although before 
the era of railroads the settlers were dependent upon them to a 
great extent. Leek's mill was propably the pioneer, built on Spoon 
river, not far from the bridge on the road from Toulon to Wyom- 



A X I ) ITS PTOXEERP. 1 1 -l 

inti", tlio same site IMr. Ciidbrd rofcrs to, as afterwards owiiod by 
]Mr. ]Miii()tt Sillinian. Sylvamis r^Ioro tried one hiylu'r up tlu> 
river. Dorranee one below the east and west forks Mu)w I'ul- 
ler's mill. ) (Jen. Tliouias and I^nocli Cox experimented in this 
line on S[)oon river. Andrew Dray tried Invdian Creek, Parker 
and Bradford, Jaek Creek, wliile Anisey Newman liad a 
lathe turned by water i)ower on Cooper's Defeat, near by Asher 
Smith's, and tlie hitter ii-ent!enia!i had a tamiery not tar from this 
place. All these experiments were ma<le as early as 1^4") or ear- 
lier, perhai)s a fev,- as early as bs;}.'). Amsey Newnian eontinued 
to make sale of a ,<;\)()d many split bottoju chairs and spiiming- 
wheels to the new comers, but the mill owners found om- water 
courses but i>oorly suited to their purposes; they would amuse 
themselves at one season of the year, by rising so rapidly as to 
siiddc-nly carry dams and other essentials to the rej^-ions of the un- 
known, and at another time the diminished current barely served 
to keep the slug-ji'ish wheel in motion, while the impatient farm- 
ers camped around, waitin.u' for a gnist, till the days g-rew to 
weeks, and wife and children at home living- on baked potatoes 
or whatever other sultstitute for bread their scanty larders furnish- 
ed. So no wonder th;;t water mills in Stark county came to be re- 
,i;;'arded as failures. As early as lS8(i a battery was established by 
the J)unbars at Latayette, and sustained for some time with com- 
mendable determination, but it finally succumbed to " hard 
times." And a few years later, at the same place a joint stock 
comi>any was formed for the purpose of erecting a carding and 
woolen mill. The latte^- was a complete failure, never even get- 
ting into operation, if vre are correctly informed. The former was 
soon abandoned as un remunerative. Old settlers, will recall the 
weather beaten skeleton of this building as it stood for years by 
the road side, a monument of disappointed endeavor. Another 
l)ioneer carding mill was owned at one time by Washington 
Trickle and Charles Yocum. This was located on Walnut creek 
in West Jersey township, then generally knoNvn as " Massillon 
Precinct." 

It must have driven quite a thriving trade at an early day 
when the women of our county spun and wove most of the cloth- 
ing the men wore, as well as their own. 

We remember, when not only large loads of " rolls " from this 
establishment used to pass through Toulon ; but occasionally a 
runaway slave, picked up i)robably at "Nigger Point" and 
snugly stowed away among the packages of wool, was carried on 
his way toward Canada and freedom, via Osceola and Providence. 
8 



114 STARK COUNTY 



But tliuo.s Iiave chaug-ed with us since I81(j. The carding mill 
has gone to decay, the people no longer wear home-spun, and 
not a slave sighs beneath the stars and stripes. 

The most extensive and Ijest directed investment in the direc- 
tion of a manufactory in Stark county, was made by Mr. John 
Culbertson in I8G0, v.hen he erected the Toulon flouring and 
Avoolen mills. And probably had Mr. Culbertson lived to supi)ort 
this enterprise by his large capital and uncommon business abili- 
ties, he would have succeeded in wringing success from the grasj) 
of adverse circumstances, and we in Toulon should have reaped 
the benefits of a flourishing manufacturing establishment giving 
employment to many hands, quickening the pulses of business 
life generally. But unfortunately for public as well as private in- 
terests, a sudden death cut short his career, and closed his enter- 
prises in 18(i9 ; since which time his heirs and executors have 
found this large and substantial structure, filled with complicated 
j\nd expensive machinery, but as an "elephant on their hands," 
-and have this year, 18V(3, sold the mills with good house and lands 
ndjoining to jNIessrs. Stauffer and Headley for a small fraction of 
the original cost. These gentlemen have an extensive if not an 
expensive experiment to try, and pul)lic spirited men will watch 
it with interest and wish them an abundant success. 

Cheese factories would seem to be such natural outgrowths of 
agricultural and stock raising communities, that one might con- 
clude at once they would take root and prove " perpetuals " here. 
But the laws of trade are capricious, or at least seem so to the 
iminitiated ; and we apprehend the stockholders of the Toulon 
cheese factory are too well informed, to count on golden harvests 
for a year or t wo^they may come and they may not. But the direc- 
tors have bnilt a plain and suitable structure, and furnished it with 
i\ll the appliances modern science demands for the making and 
keeping of got)d cheese, employed a skilled overseer, and now 
■"propose to fight it out on that line" till it does pay. 

We are told it has so far more than met their expectations, dis- 
posing of -!,1)(l(» pounds of milk per day during the first year of its 
existence, and one or more other tanks are already to be added in 
order to accommodate its new patrons. The cheese is of fine 
quality, competing favorably in the home market with the ])est 
brands ever imported here, and is winning a name in the trade — 
known as " Molly Stark." 

This surely is an enterprise our farmers cannot afford to let 
droop, making as it does a ready market for milk, otherwise of 
but little value during the \varm weather, as the manufacture and 



AXD ITS nOXEERS. 115 

shipment of Imtter is attended with much h\l>or and less reward. 
Second in importance only to om-agTicultural interests, must be 
considered 

SPOOX RIVER COAL, AND ITS MIXING. 

t 

AYe shall introduce here an extract from an otfieial report of 
Professor Willnir, an eminent geologii^i^ on the extent and value 
of Spoon river coal, much of ^\ hich lies within our county lines, 
as the report conveys more full and pointed information upon 
this subject than we have been able to find in as small space else- 
where. He says : "We have applied the name of .Spoon river 
to the coal and also to the fiekl or basin containing- it, liecause the 
river, with its tributaries, is co-extensive with it, and in its low- 
er portions cuts through the middle member of the coal series. 

" The average thickness of this coal is four feet six inches, and 
is divided into three portions or branches. 

" The upper layer or branch is a very compact, black, brittle 
and brilliant coal, eighteen to twenty-two inches in thickness. 
This is uniform, and free from all impurities, and u))on this por- 
tion depends the reputation of what is called the ' Wyoming coal.' 
It is highly bituminous, yielding a large per cent, of gas, for 
which it would take precedence in any western market. It would 
yield eighty gallons of crude oil per ton of coal. So rich in hydro- 
carbon or bitumen is it, that a local deposit of fine slate overlay- 
ing it, at Princeville, has becoine cannel coal, and has been profit- 
ably distilled into oil. 

" This layer alone, contains more oil than the combined pro- 
ducts of all the oil wells and springs of the United States and 
Canada, and will probably be resorted to for supplies, when these 
sources have failed. The fortunate position of the Spoon river 
coal field gives us occasion to make a few remarks as regards its 
future value. It is situated near the Mississippi river, whose coal 
trade in l)arges northward will soon ('(jual its luml)er trade south- 
ward ; distributing these mining products at the depots of 15,000 
miles of shore, on either side. It is bounded on the north by the 
Silliman district, which occupies 17,000 square miles of northern 
Illinois, all of AVisconsin and Minnesota, and nortliern Iowa. 
This vast erea is entirely void of coal, depending solely upon 
transportation from the nearest coal deposits. 

" The limit of workable coal may be safely put at 80 miles 
north-west and south-east, 30 miles north-east and south-west, 
giving an area of 2,400 scpiare miles ; and there are two veins of 



116 STABK COUNTY 

coal, having a combined thickufs.s of nine feet. To meaKUve the 
anioinit in ton.s, we must talve one cubic yard, for every ton as a 
measuring- unit. 

"A stratum of coal three feet t}iick,M'ouhI therefore give a cul)ic 
yard or ton for every square yard of surface. Hence an acre of 
tliree foot coal would contain 4,8i(» tons ; but we have a combined 
thickness of nine feet ; an acre therefore, in this coal field must 
contain M,')2ii tons." 

" Tiie aggregate of tons contained in the coal field whose limit 
we liave assumed as eighty by tiiirty miles is, 22,oOi2,720,(t<)(> 
tons! ! Now if we distribute l,n(iti tons per day, ii: will require 
75,01)!) years to exhaust the supply, allowing oO() working days 
per year." 

If these c<.)nclusious be correct, and we see no reason to tpies- 
tion them, the subject of fuel for the Spoon river country, need 
not be a matter of anxiety. Yet it \\as, to the first settlers, Avho 
few, if any of them dreamed of the wealth that slumbered be- 
neath the "rough lands" they viewed with such indifi'erence, 
they burned wood exclusively for years, and much was thus con- 
sumed that might have been used for better purposes. 

Probably the very first coal in Stark county, was dug about IS."),") ; 
this was along Jack creek and Jug run ; also on section 23, Tou- 
lon township, by William and David Howard. About the same 
time or soon after, there was some mining done on section 2-"), by 
John Robinson and Richard Howarth, the latter best known 
among his neighbors by the sobriquet of "Shanty Diclc." 

"And coal was found ' cropping out ' on the old Bcckworth 
property on Spoon river, and also in the timber then belonging to 
Mr. Culbertson near Indian creek ; but the letter is the small or 
two feet vein, classed as number seven, by the state geologists." 

So writes jNCr. James Fraser, ^^•ell known in Stark county for 
years past, as a scientific and practical miner, to whom we are in- 
debted for the facts relative to the development and growth of 
this enterprise among us. He is an P^nglishman by birth and ed- 
ucation, came here in IS-")? fresh from the collieries of Xew Castle, 
and together with a fellow countryman, Tiiomas Tunsall, leased 
part of section 14 from Elisha Dixon. The coal trade here was 
still in its infancy, but they opened a mine and worked it system- 
atically, and by cleaning their coal of sulphur and slack made it 
]nore marketable, and l)etter adaj^ted for cooking purposes, which 
advantages soon brought it into more general use. 

In the spring of 1858 they bought part of section 2-3 and work- 
ed that, and sold about 1,000 tons that year. Mr. Fraser thiidvs 



AND ITS PIOXEEiW. 117 

that represents at It'ast oiie-fourth of tlie coal business for the 
county in isr),s, and would i)ut the amount now for one year, at 
!>."),( IIM» or ;5(»,(H)i) tons, not including- the Wyoming- shalt, which 
probably furnislies as nuich more; but as we sliall speatc of that 
more fully in connection with the town, we shall trace its history 
no farther here. Thomas Tnnsall one of the pioneers in this 
branch of trade, died in bSiJ'), and is buried in the Toulon 
cemetery. 

Every township in Stark is well supplied with coal, and in all, 
mines have l)een worked to a greater or less extent. Our coal 
l)usiness has )>een subject to l)ut few fluctuations. Through the 
Avinter it reg'ularly affords work for large numbers of la))orers, at 
})r<){itable rates. Our dealers have suffered from no "strikes" 
such as Iiave spread panic through the eastern states, and we have 
needed no " Molly ]Maguires " to regulate our prices; the natural 
laws of supply and demand have been heeded, the rights of all 
parties, in the main regarded, hence there have l)een no collisions, 
and it is to be hoi)ed our capitalists may be as wise for the future. 

Our supply of istone is limited, the eastern part of the county 
being l)est supplied with this useful connnodity. In the vicinity 
of Bradfoi'd the traveler is occasionally surprised by the vision of 
a stone house, and it is said that the station in Valley, known as 
AVady Petra, received its oriental name, on account of an unex- 
pected discovery of rock by its late ow^er llev. Philander Chase; 
the term signifying in our tongue, a " rocky valley " or valley of 
rock. 

HAIL no ADS. 

For many years Stark county suffered for want of railroad fa- 
cilities, not only as a matter of convenience to the traveling pub- 
lic, but because the rich products of her fields and mines w^ere 
seeking outlet, and thus, Kewanee and Galva, both Henry coun- 
ty towns, reaped large jjrofits from a trade that should have enliv- 
ened our own streets, and brought prosperity to our own business 
houses. 

As early as ISoO, enterprising men were at work to change this 
state of affairs and secure for us home markets by means of rail- 
ways. A road over the present line of the Peoria ct Hock Is- 
land, was first talked of, and prominent men from the two cities 
made many journeys across the intervening country, with this 
project in view. But it failed. 

The next effort was to build " The Air Line Road," across 



118 8TARK COUXTV 

our state, connecting the Illinois with tlie Mississippi river, and 
touching at the principal towns in our county — Wyoming, Tou- 
lon and Lafayette, all of which could l)e easily reached it was 
thought. Great interest was taken in this movement, and a 
large amount of stock was subscribed. 

In 1854 the county voted bonds to aid the enterprise to the 
amount of So(),000. The same year the route was surveyed, and 
in the following year the supervisors granted the bonds voted by 
the people. In September, 1855, the " breaking ground " was cel- 
ebrated at Toulon by a public dinner on the square, and appropriate 
speeches. Great enthusiasm prevailed and a good i)ortion of the 
vast assemblage afterwards adjourned to the prairie east of town 
to see the first shovelful of earth thrown up on the much de- 
sired road. 

But all this ended in blank disappointment, as, after grading 
the road in sections from river to river, the company in cliarge 
was found to be irresponsible and no iron or " rolling stock " was 
ever obtained. 

Our next hope seemed to be ia a new " Peoria and Rock Island 
Railway Company " which was incorporated March 7th, 18(37. 

They proceeded to buy the right of way from the " air- 
line," and new subscriptions and bonds were voted to them. 
These bonds were granted on certain conditions, one of which 
was that the i^oad should run within one-half mile of the centres 
of Toulon, Wyoming and Lafayette. These conditions were nev- 
er all complied ^^'ith, but the new company built and equipped 
the road, and the bonds are all being paid. The first train of 
cars on the Peoria and Rock Island railroad, reached Toulon in 
June, 1871. 

This was but a construction train, but it was a sure harbinger of 
better things, and the citizens must be rather demonstrative in 
their rejoicing. So another fine dinner was improvised, and not 
only residents, but all the officers and employees of the road 
were bidden to the feast. Tables were set in the grove, near 
Judge Ogle's, and all "went merry as a marriage bell"— the 
" i)addies " wishing they " could get to Toulon for the first time, 
often." 

The company that secured us this great advantage was consti- 
tuted of the following named gentlemen : 

OFFICERS. 

William R. Hamilton, President ; P. M. Blair, Vice President ; 
H. N. Wheeler, Treasurer ; C. P. James, Secretary. 



AND ITS nONEEES. 119 

EX KCUTI VE C()>rMITTEE. 

William U. Hamilton, William II. Cruger and R. R. Cable. 

FIR8T BOATtD OF DIRECTORS. 

William R. Hamilton, William II. Cruiser, IT. T. Baldwin and 
Valentine Dewein, of Peoria; Patrick M. Blair, Toulon ; Williani' 
L. Wiley, Galva ; O. E. Page and Amos Gould, Cambridge, and 
Ransom R. Cable, of Rock Island. 

With regard to the country through Avhich this road runs, the 
committee appointed to investigate, report thus : 

" The line of the Peoria and Rock Island railway passes central- 
ly through the counties of Peoria, Stark, Henry and Rock Island,, 
and through the north-east corner of Knox county ; and at least 
one-third of the four iirst named counties will l)e tributary to 
it. This region of country is unsurpassed by any portion of th(^ 
United States, for fertility and productiveness. 

"There is almost no waste land along the entire line of this 
road. The streams are only fringed with timber, and the rich 
midulations of magniticent prairie, all under im})rovement, and 
teeming with i)opulatif)n and wealth., ext(>nd in every direction, 
iiir as the eye can reach." 

Add to these agricultural resources the products of tlie vast coal 
measures along its route, and we may well conclude that if the 
Peoria and Rock Island railway does not, or has not paid a good 
per centage to stockholders, we must look for the reason else- 
where. 

But the Peoria and Rock Island Railway, is not the only one 
Stark county is interested in. Over on the east side is what was 
called the " Dixon, Peoria and Hannibal road." This road was in 
running order some time prior to the completion of the P. & R. 
I. R. R. and was secured in great measure, by the almost sui)er- 
human efforts of Dr. Alfred Castle. It is now recognized as the 
"Buda branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy road," by 
which it is controlled. It traverses three of our townships, Es- 
sex, where it strikes the town of Wyoming, Penn, and Osceola. 
The other road accommodates Valley, Essex, Toulon and dJoshen, 
leaving but two without railroad facilities, and very ])robably a 
few more years will see new lines devised, comuH-ting other 
points, whose routes will lie through West Jersey and Elniira. 



120 STAKK COrXTY 

INVJOXTiOXS AXi) IXVKXTOHS. 

i 

Although Stark county is .small in area, among its citizens are 
those who have produced some of the best and most widely used 
inventions of the day. And in particular we would refer to 
James Armstrong, jr., oi" Elmira, who has done much, for a man 
of his age to lessen the fatigue and labor of the tillers of tlie soil. 
To those who now use the "Armstrong" or " Keystone" corn 
planter, with its adaptations so portect in every respect, as to be 
considered by many incapable of improvement, it will be inter- 
esting to know that the iirst of these niachines was invented, 
built and used by Mr. Ainnstrong in the year 1S(>(), when oidy a , 
boy of fourteen years. True the })lanter of that date v,as some- 
what cumbersome and rough, but in it were embodied the main 
features of the present machine, viz: perfect regulation of the 
depth of planting and the visible throwing drop by v\hich the 
seed is forcibly and with positive certainty, deposited in the earth 
in view of the operator. With this planter, built with the few 
tools he was able to gather together, the sky over head for the 
roof of his shop, and the side of a corn crib for its wall ; in that 
year he planted 80 acres on his father's farm. The yield of corn 
Avas the largest produced to that date. This was the Iirst check 
row pkmter ever used on the place, and no other planters than 
those of his own invention have ever since been used on it. In 
1862, the United States Patent office granted him his first patent 
on his invention. The neighboring farmers hearing of his ma- 
they chine began to want the i)lanter that threw out the corn so as 
could see it when planting, lie made as many as he was able. 
In 1863 he took his machine to the trial of agricultural imple- 
ments, held by the state agricultural society at Decatur, Illinois, 
where it was well received. In 18(54, the government granted 
him another patent for improvements. In 1865 at the Illinois 
State Fair held at Chicago, his planter received the society's "re- 
connuendation for superior qualities." But living as he was, 
about ten iniles from railroads, and having to get his castings 
from railroad towns, and part of his work done here and i)art 
done there, and there being occasioned so much hauling of mate- 
rial, and extra labor, it was Impossible to supply all demands for 
his majhin?^, which as thsy bacime kio ,vn, wer > the m^re called 
for. 

It was whilst his planter \vas bcin^;;- exhibited at the Iowa state 
fair in 1866, that it was noticed by Mr. Thomas A. Gait, then of 
the iirm of (Jalt& Tracy, Sterling, Illinois— now the excellent 



^1 



A XI) ITS PIONEERS. 121 

l)rcsi(l('nt of the Keystone Manufacturing' Company. Coniiiiuni- 
cations wore entered into by the al)ove nan^ed gentleman and 
I\Ir. Arni-itrong, and arran.genients made where! )y they under- 
toolv the building of the " .Armstrong," !iow iriore widely known 
as the " ls.eystone Corn Planter." Jn the spring- of 1H()7 they 
built and sold lifty planters, but so rapid and increasing has been 
the demand tliat altliough tliey had five thousand ready for the 
spring of iSTo, and had the caijacity for turning out fifty machines 
per day, the company w( re unable to supjdy all orders. It is be- 
lieved the si)ring of ISTG will see more than twenty-live thousand 
of these machines in the hands of thetarmers. They are shipped 
from the lactory in car loads, and tlieir sales extend from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific. Besides the above patents the g-overn- 
ment has granted to Mr. Armstrong several other valualile ones 
on his planter, among the last of which is for a gravitating' 
" cut off," considered !)y farmers and ex])erts the most ingenious 
aiul perfect device for preventing the cutting of corn ever niven- 
ted. 

Besides his Yjlant-^r, he is the inventor of the Armstrong Pa- 
tent riding corn cultivator, with its laterally and vertically ad- 
justable guard, of which he built as many as two hundred in one 
si)ring at Elmira ; but the demand becoming too great, the Sand- 
wich manufacturing company of Sandwich, Illinois, took hold of 
it and built by the thousand. It has of late been built by the 
Eureka manufacturing company of Rock Falls, Illinois. In com- 
pany with his brother George, he also perfected a gang plow — 
each plow adjustal)le to any reipiired depth, with patent rolling 
colters which are adjustable, so as to raise and lower whilst the 
plow is in motion. 

A goodly number of these have been used by our farmers, and 
all of them with success. He also built a powerful wind-mill of 
his own invention capable of running a circular saw, emery grin- 
der, drill, latiie, etc. 

A few years ago, when there was wfiiro}' for steamers for "cook- 
ing feed," he tried his hand at that kind of invention, and suc- 
ceeded in producing one that worked to perfection, and on a 
principle different from any known to him. But not wishing to 
continue in that line of invention he did not pursue it further. 

Being eciually at honie at the blacksmith's forge, the carpen- 
ter's bench, or witli tlie painter's brush — his machines which 
have been exhibited annually at our county fairs for the last 12 
years — many of tliem constructed and finished wholly by him- 
self—have been admired for their symmetrical proportions and 



122 STARK fOUXTY 

tlie artistic skill and finish which they exhibited, no less than for 
perfect adaptation to the purposes for which they are intended. 
He possesses in lar^ii^e measure originality of concei)tion — the fa- 
culty of discovering- means to accomi)lish a desired result, and of 
bringing into practical shape, with his own hands, whatever me- 
chanical combination his fertile mind works out. He is known 
to our farmers as a kind, accommodating and unpretending young- 
man, and has the respect, confidence, and esteem of all our citi- 
zens. 

We regret to add that this noble young inventor has passed 
from earth since the foregoing account was penned. He fell 
a victim to lung disease, })roba))ly induced liy the fatigues and 
exposures of the harvest of ISTO. 

His early demise will be deplored by all who knew the rare 
and noble qualities of his nature. Yet, he lived to impress in- 
delil)ly the name of Armsfro/u/ upon the manufacturing and agri- 
cultural interests of Illinois. Few will accomplish as much, 
though they live to bow beneath a weight of years. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 12S 



CHAPTER V. 



THE FAUXA OF STARK COUNTY 



This chapter for want of proper materials must be. very defec- 
tive. No one has ever deemed it their duty to study the various 
forms of animal life in our county, as a county. And the works 
that have been written coverin<>" this section of the state include 
such an area as to make them uncertain guides for our smaller 
limits. 8uch a change has taken place in the fauna of Illinois and 
especially of Stark county since its settlement as to almost require 
two catalogues. 

The buffalo which once roamed over the i)rairies, are gone for- 
ever, and left nothing but their bleaching bones which can be still 
found in heaps along 8poon river, where in sheltered places whole 
herds had gathered and perished in some great storm. 

With or before the buffalo went the V)eaver (Castor Americanus). 
The beautiful American elk ( Cervus Canadensis, ) the Ixidger 
(Taxidea Americana,) the black bear (Ursus Americanus,) the 
panther and the black wolf. 

Some animals once quite common have become very rare. As the 
grey fox (Vulpes Virginianus,) the catamount (Lynx Canadensis,) 
and the wild cat, (Lynx Rufus). The otter (Lutra Canadensis) has 
almost entirely disappeared, though some fine specimens were 
captured as late as 187-'), The grey wolf (Canis Occidentalis) is but 
seldom seen any n4i)re. We so much regret that the game laws 
were not at an earlier day extended to protect the beautiful \'\y- 
giniadeer (Cervus Virginianus) before it was totally exterminatecL 
Now, not a park in the county is to be found in which to preserve 
this beauty of the forest and prairie. 

( )f the animals now found in Stark, but little can l)e said but to 
give a catalogue of the best known. Many of them are fast dis- 
appearing and ere long will be jiassed from us as are the deer^ 
the beaver, and the bison. 



124 STARK COUNTY 

The racoon (Proeyon Lotor,) opossum (Didt'lphys Virginiana,) 
mink (Putorius Vison,) musk rat ( Fiber Zihetliicus, ) pole eat 
(Mepiiitis JMepliitica,) tiie small brown weasel (Putorius C'ieog- 
nani or Fuseus,) the common weasel (P. Noveboraeensis,) wood 
chuck or ]N[aryland marmot (Arctomys Monax,) prairie mole (Sca- 
lops Arg'cntatus,) common shrew mole (>S. A(piaticus,) meadow 
mouse (Arvieola Riparia,) jumping- mouse (Jaculus Hudsonius,) 
and the deer mouse (Hesiieromys Leucopus,) the hare (Lepus Syl- 
vaticus.) Of scpiirrels we have the well known western fox squir- 
rel (Sciurus Ludovicianus,) the grey timber squirrel (8. t'arolinen- 
sis,) the children's favorite chii)munk (Tamias Striatus,) the large 
grey prairie squirrel (Spermophilus Franklini,) tlie striped and 
sp(jtted prairie sipiirrel (.S. Tridecem-lineatus,) and the beautiful 
liying- squirrel (Pteromys Volucella.) Two bats are quite com- 
mon, the dark l)rown bat (Nycticejus Noveboracencis,) and the red- 
dish bat (N. Lasiurus). This list of quadrupeds might be length- 
ened much to include those small animals that are occasionally 
found strayed here. But we have already stretched the catalogue 
beyond the reader's patience. 

Of the birds of Stark county we know even less than of mam- 
mals. Many are no longer to be found which were once numer- 
ous. Many migratory species come only at long intervals and for 
but a short time. We ^\'onder tliat some one has not turned a 
special attention to the birds of our vicinity. No more beautiful 
ornaments can be found for parlor or drawing-room than the well 
preserved specimens of our feathered friends. Why have not 
some of our high schools turned their attention in this direction ? 
Abortive attempts at teaching Zoology are being made all the 
tim3 without a single specimen of the animal kingdom in the 
study-room except a few manmialia of the genus Homo, and they 
not always pleasant subjects to study, when with a little care and 
a small outlay of money a fine collection might adorn our school 
rooms and add to the interest of the study a hundred fold. 

A collection of birds' eggs I think is not to be found in the coun- 
ty. And yet they make a beautiful ornament and are easy of ac- 
cess and require but little care. The collection of them will create 
a lively interest in the study of birds and their habits. And now 
this has become quite fashional)le and quite lucrative, which are 
probably greater inducements to most i^eople than any we could 
suggest. 

We think the following list as nearly correct as can be made 
with the amount of itvailable information we have on this sub- 
ject : 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 125 

Raptores. — (loklen eagle (Aquila Canadensis or Chrysa?tos,) 
now no longer seen liere and always rare; the bald eagle (Haliav 
tus Leueucephalus,) onceciuite couinion, n(^w very scarce, no long- 
er breeds here but strays from 'the heavy timber on the Illinois; 
Among hawks ^\■e liave several species, some but seldom seen and 
others very common. Fisli liawk (Pandion Carolinensis,) tlie 
pigeon hawls: (Falco Columbarius) sparrow hawk (F. 8i)arverius,) 
Cooper's hawk (Accipiter Cooperii) sharp sliinned hawk (Acciinter 
Fuscus,) red tailed hawk (Buteo Borealis) tlie red shouldered hawk 
(B. Lineatus,) the swallow tailed hawk (Nanclerus Furcatus,) and 
the marsli hawk (Circus ITudsonicus). ,The turkey buzzard (Ca- 
thartes Aura) has almost if not (juite disappeared. Of the family 
of owls we have several all seldom seen, becauseof theirnocturn- 
al habits. The best known is the mottled screech owl (Scops Asio,) 
and the rarest is the snowy owl (Nyctea Nivea) . A very tinesi)eci- 
men of which is in the possession of Mr. S. K. Couover of Toulon. 
The other owls are the great horned owl (Bubo Vii-ginianus, ) the 
long-eared owl (Otus Wilsonianus,) the short-eared owl (Ih-a- 
chyotus Cassinii,) and the barred owl (Syrnium Xelndosum.) 

Scansores. — Thereare but few of this order in our county. At an 
early day the Carolina [)arrot (Conurus Carolinensis) was often 
seen but has now entirely deserted us. The yellow ))illed and 
black billed cuckoos (Coecygus Americanus and C. Erythrophthal- 
nuis) are occasionally seen. But the l)est know of our climbers 
are the woodpeckers. The pileated wood pecker (IlylotomusPi- 
leatus,) the hairj^ wood pecker (Piscus Villosus,) the downy A\ood 
pecker (P. Pubescens,) yellows-bellied wood pecker (Hphyrapicus 
A'arius,) the red-l)ellied wood pecker (Centurus Carolinus,) the 
red headed wood i>ecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) and the 
golden-\\-inged wood pecker (Colajites Auratus). 

Insessores or Perchers. This order of birds in our county as in 
all temperate regions is by far the most numerous and includes 
nearly all those which are attractive either in plumage or in song. 
The rul)y throated humming bird with its exquisite plumage is 
at the head of the list. This is the hunnning bird wliich is al- 
ways a delight to the children and is the only one found in Illi- 
nois. It is known to naturalists as Trochilus Coluln'is. In the 
swift family we have but one species, the chimney swallow (Chae- 
tura Pelasgia,) easily known froin the other swallows by its very 
long wings and forked tail. ( )f the whippoorwill family we have 
tw^o representatives, the whippoorwill proper (Antrostomus ^7)cif- 
erus,) whose well known note is familiar to all, and the night 
hawk (Chordeiles Popetue,) by many supposed to be identical 



]2G STARK COUNTY 

Avith the \vhippoor\vill but in fact a di^^tinct g-enus. The belted 
king fisher (Ceryle Aleyon,) so well known to the school boy is 
the only member of this beautiful family among- us. At the head 
of the fly cathers is the tyrant fly catcher (Tyrannus Carolinensis,) 
better known by its more familiar names of king bird or hee 
bird. In the same family we have the crested fly catcher (Myiar- 
chus Crinitus,) the pewee (Sayornis Fucus.) Of the sub-order of 
Oscines or true singers we have the following : the common robin 
(Turdus Migratorius,) the wood thrnsh (T. Mustelinus,) Wilson's 
thrush (T. Fuscescens,) the wood pewee (Cantopus Virens,) the 
blue bird (8ialia Sialis,) the ruby crowned wren (Regulus Calendu- 
la,) golden crested wren (R. Satrapa,) Tit lark (Anthus Ludovici- 
anus,) black-and-white creeper (Mniotilta Varia,) blue yellow 
backed warbler (Parula Americana,) prothonotary warbler (Pro- 
tonotaria Citrea,) Maryland yellow throat (Geothlypis Trichas,) 
Kentucky warbler (Oporornis Formosus,) yellow breasted chat 
(Icteria Viridis,) worm-eating warbler (Helmitherus Vermivor- 
us,) blue winged yellow warbler (Helminthophaga Pinus,) Ten- 
nessee warbler (H. Peregrina,) golden crowned tlirush or oven 
bird (8eiurus Aurocapillus). Of the genus Dendroica there is 
the black throated green warbler (D. Virens,) and eight others: 
(D. Blackburniie, S. Castanea, D. Pinus, D. Discolor, D. Striata, D. 
^Estiva, D. Ooronata, and D. Palmarum.) flooded warbler (My- 
iodioctesMitratus,) red start (8etophaga lluticella,) scarlet tanager 
(Pyranga Rubra ;) Summer red bird (P. J^stiva.) 

Swallow family. — Barn swallow (Hirundo Horreorum,) white 
bellied swallow (H. Bicolor,) bank swallow (Cotyle Riparia,) 
Cliff Swallow (Hirundo Lunifrons). Purple liiartin (Progne 
Purpure:\. Wax Wing family. — The cedar Itird (Ampelis Ce- 
drorum). Shrike family. — Great Northern shrike or Imteher 
bird [Collyrio borealis,] red-eyed fly catcher [Vireo Olivaceus,] 
white-eyed fly catcher [V. Noveboracensis] blue headed flycatch- 
er [V. Solitai-ius,] yellow throated fly catcher [V. Flavifrons]. 
Mocking bird family. — Cat bird [jNIimus Carolinensis,] In-own 
thrush fllarporhynchus Rufus,] house wren [Troglodytes >Edon,] 
winter wren [T. Hyemalis]. Creeper family.— American Creeper 
[Certhia xVmericana,] white bellied nuthatch [Sitta Carolinen- 
sis.] Titmouse family. — Tufted titmouse [Lophophanes Bicolor,] 
l)lack cap titmouse or chickadee [Parus Atricapillus] . Skylark 
family. — This family is but poorly repre-.ented here. Only one 
species and it bears no comparison with the lark of Europe. The 
only species is the common skylark of the prairies [Eremophila 
Cornuta]. The Finch family. — The purple finch [Carpodacus Pur- 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 127 

pureus,] the yellow l)ir(l [Chrysoniitris Tristi^;,] the lark fineh 
[ChondestesGraniniaea,] the snow bunting" [Plectrophanes Nival- 
is,] Smith's l)untin<>- [P. Pietus) these last two only appear in win- 
ter. Tlie Savannah sparrow [Passereulus Savanna,! the black 
snow bird [Juneo Hyenialis,] tiekl sparrow [SpizellaPusilla,] the 
chii)i)ing- sparrow [S.Soeialis,] the tree sparrow [Spizella]Montieo- 
la,| the song si)arrow [^lelospiza INIelodia,] the swamp sjnirrow 
[M. Palustris,! the fox-e(jlored sparrow [Passerella lliaea,J Idaek 
throated bunting- [Euspiza Americana,] rose breasted grosbeak 
[Guiraca Ludoviciana,] Indigo bird (Cyanospiza Cyanea,) the 
ground robin [Pipilo Erythrophthalmus]. Black bird family. — 
The cow bird [Melothrus Pecoris,] the red-winged or swamp 
blackbird [Agelaius phceniceus,] the meadow lark [Sturnella Mag- 
na]. Wo have two beautiful Orioles that are favorites with all 
because of their rich and l)rilliant colors and their familiarity with 
man. The orchard oriole [Icterus Spurius,] the Baltimore oriole 
I. Baltimore,] the rusty l)lack bird [Scolecophagus Ferrugineus,] 
the crow black-bird or purple grakle [Quiscalus Versicolor]. 
Crow family. — Common Crow [Corvus Americanus,] and blue- 
jay (Cyanura cristata). Basoresi This order contains 1)ut few 
genera or species in our county, but those that are found are of 
great importance and very valuable. Furnishing as they do 
.so many delicacies for our tables. The wild turkej' (Meleagris 
Crallopavo,) the finest of all our game birds, has entirely disap- 
peared and was the only one of its family ever among us. 

The Dove family — ^the wild or passenger pigeon (Ectopistes jVIi- 
gratoria) still visits us in large numbers, but not in those im- 
mense flocks as in an early day. Acres of forest were often so 
filled at night with these birds, that the breaking of boughs and 
the flying of pigeons made a roar that could be heard for miles, 
and the shot of the sportsman's gun could not be heard at a dis- 
tance of ten feet. The Carolina dove, (Zenaidura Carolinensis) 
commonly called the turtle dove, still fills the woods with its 
plaintive tone. 

Grouse family — the best known of this important ftimily is the 
])rairie chicken, (Cupidonia Cupido) which, if not very carefully 
])rotected, nuist, 'ere long, follow the wild turkey, never to re- 
turn. The ruffed grouse, (Bonasa Umbellus) wrongfully called a 
Ijheasant, has of late made itsapi>earance in out midst. It is quite 
fond of cultivated fields, and, if properly protected and encour- 
aged until it gets firmly settled, will make a fine addition to our 
game l)irds, and fill the place of the jirairie chicken, which is slow- 
ly but surely deserting the prairies it once loved so well. 



128 STARK cor XT Y 

Prtrtridije family — here we find another fine ])ir(l, tiie (|uail, 
(Ortyx \'irL;inianus) dooiiunl to destruction, its late being- only a 
question oftini;^ an.l a short one. 

Grallatores or wa(Un:s— this order, l)?v.'ause of their sliyness and 
solitary habits, are probably less known than any other. 
JMany of those mentioned in our list once frequented our marshes, 
ponds, and streams; but cultivation ha-^ drained their favorite 
haunts, and the whooi)iny crane h^ng' a<io ^ave place to the whoop- 
ino- i)low bov. Onlv a few of the smaller and more bold species 
are nov/ seen. 

C'rane family — the who^pino- crane, ((Jrus Amerieanus) always 
rare, is now never seen. The sand hill or brown crane still 
make a short call on their journeys north and soutli, known to 
naturalists as " G. Canadensis." 

Heron family — Great blue heron or crane (Ardea llerodias), 
least bittern (Ai'detta Exilis), the g-reen heron (Butorides Vires- 
cens), night heron (Nyctiardea Gardeni), American l)ittern (Bota- 
urus Lentiginosus), 

Ibis family — it has been claimed that the wood il)is has be(>n 
seen in our county, but it is very doubtful; calletl also Tantalus Locu- 
lator. The glossy ibis (Ibis Ordii) is also very rare. 

l*lover family— golden plover (Charadrius \'irginicus), the kill- 
deer plover (.Eg'ialitis Vociferus), king or semipalmated plover 
[JE. Semipalmatus). 

Phalaropo family— Wilson's phalarope iPhalaropus AVilsonii), 
red phalarope (P. Fulicarius). 

!^nil)e family— Wilson's snipe (Gallinago Wilsonii), gray or red 
breasted snipe (Macrorhamphus (h-iseus), the greater long beak 
(M. Scolopac(His), the jack snipe (Tringa Maculata), the least sand- 
piper (T. Wilsonii), semipalmated sand pii>er (EreunetesPetrlfica- 
tus), the Willet (Symphemia Scnupalmata), the tell-tale ((Jam- 
betta Melanoleuca), the yellow legs (G. Flavipes), the solitary sand 
piper ( Rhyacoi)hilus Solitarius), the spotted sand piper (Tringoides 
Macularius)', the field plover (Actiturus Bartramius), long billed 
curlew (Nunienins Longirostris), the common rail (Pallus A^'irgin- 
iamis), the clapper rail or mud hen (K. Crepitans), the Coot (Ful- 
ica Americana). 

Natores or swimmers — this order of birds, which frequent our 
forests and streams, or did before our county was so thickly set- 
tled, are nearly, if not quite, all birds of passage. And many 
that once visited us during their anmial journeys, now pass us to 



AM) ITS TTOXKKllS. 1 29 

lind more secure rostiiit;' places. lOvcry year tlioy become more 
and mon* scarce. 

In the (luck family we once had tiie trum])eter swan (Cyj^'nus 
Buccinator), tlu' American swan (('y<inus Americaiuis), the white- 
fronted ft'ooso (Bernicla Canadensis), <li<' malhovl oi- (Jrccn Head 
(Anas IJosclias), tlie pintail or sj)ri.ntail (Dafila Acuta), the j^'recn 
wiiiii'ed teal (Xettion Carolinensis), tlu' blue wiii.ncd teal ((^uer- 
((uedula Discors), tlies])oonbill or shoveller fSi)atu!a("]ypeata), tlu? 
jjadwell (('han]{Masmus Streperus), the baldjiate or American wid- 
fi,'eon (Mareca Americana), the summei" or wood duck (Aix Si)on- 
sa), thebij4' black-head or scaninluck ( l^'uliv ^Marila), the rin<v neck- 
ed duck (I^'idix Collavis), the ved luad (.\ythya Americana), the 
canvas-back (A. ^'allisneria), thebutter ball or dii)p<'r (lUicephala 
AIbeola\ the slieldrake, ji'oosander, or tisli duck (Mergns Anieri- 
canus), the red breasted merji^ansin' (.AL Herrator), the hooded 
mer<iai^ser (I^ophodytes cucculatus\ 

i'elican family — of this singular family we n(»ver had but one 
species, and tliat is gone. The rouj^h-billed jx'lican (Pelicanus 
Krytlir()rhynchus\ 

Cormorant family — tlie double crested cormorant ((Iraculus Dilo- 
1»1his). 

(lull family — the herrin}>' or silvery '^uU (Larus Argentatus), 
Wilson's tern (Sterna Wilsonii). 

Diver family — the great northern diver or loon (Colynibus Tor- 
quatus). 

This closes our list of the ornithology of our county, imperfect 
as it must be. 

Reptiles. Of this class we will say but few words. The num- 
ber of species is very small and of e(|ually small importance. They 
have changed less than any of the i)rece(ling classes. In fact, ex- 
cept the ])oisonous snakes all the species nearly are now to be 
found that ever were. The rattli? snakes, of wiiich we have two 
kinds, the banded rattle snake ((!rotalus Durissus) and the prairie 
rattle sna.ke (Crotaloi)horus Tergeminus), are fast disai)i)earing, 
owing to the incessant warfare man has Maged against them. 
The copperhead (Agkistrodon Contortrix) was always rar(>, and is 
totally extinct. Among th(! harndess snakes are the common gar- 
ter snake (Kuta-nia Sirtalis), tlu? water snake (Nerodia Siix'don), 
the bull snake (Pituoi)his melanoleucusj, the milk snake (Oplil- 
bolus Eximius) very scarce, tlu? black snake (Bascanion Constric- 
tor), aiul the blue racer. 

Tjizards are very scarce, and most of those knoVn as lizards are 
not truly such. 

9 



130 STARK COUNTY 

Among- the turtles are found tlie Traeheniys Elegans, the map 
turtle or (Jraptemy.-. Geographiea, Chrysemys Picta, Thyroster- 
iiuni Ponnsylvauicum, the snappuig turtle (Ciielydrai^erpentin-i), 
and the soft shelled turtle (Aspidonectes Spinifer). 

Batrachia or naked reptiles are few, and though loathsome to 
sight and touch, are all perfectly harmless. The toad (Bufo- 
Americana), the bull frog (Kana Catesbiana), the leopard frog 
(liana Ilalecina), tree toad (Ilyla Versicolor), with some tailed ba- 
trachia not worth mentioning are all. 

The lish of our county being of but small value and little impor- 
tance, we i)ass thein by to speak of the insects. Not to give a 
catalogue, for that is impossible, but to urge upon each and all 
the study of this branch of natural history, and the collection of 
specimens. There can be nothing more wonderful or interesting 
than the changes in insect life. And what makes it sui)eri()r to 
the other branches of natural history, is the ease with which spec- 
imens are gathered and cared for. And continual interest is 
awakened as new forms and new species are brought to light. 
The \\riter of this chapter has discovered no less that 3000 dis- 
tinct species on forty acres of ground adjoining Toulon. Many of 
the night flying moths are perfectly gorgeous and totally un- 
known to nearly every one. 

The Pale Empress of the Night [Attacus Luna] is very common, 
we have found nine in one hollow tree. This moth measures five 
inches across, and is a pale green, with a transparent quarter moon 
on each upper wing. The Cecropia moth [Attacus Cecropia] is al- 
so beautiful, large, and common. We will mention a few of the 
finest of our moths and ))utterflies. In taking care of specimens, 
all direct rays of the sun should be kept from all the specimens, 
and the night flying insects should be k€>pt in the dark, or they 
will lose their l)rilliant colors and fade. The asterias butterfly 
IPapilio Asterias], the turnus l)utterfly fP. Turnus], common yel- 
low butterfly [C'olias Philodice], the white butterfly [Pieris Oleri'. 
ceaj, misippus Imtterfly [Limenitis Misipi>us|, arthemis butterfly 
[L. Arthemis], Archippus butterfly [Danais Erii)pus|, the idalia 
butterfly [Argynnis Idalia], the nicippe butterfly |Papilio Nici})- 
pe], androniachi butterfly | Papilio Androniacha], the forked Init- 
terfly [Vanessa Furcllhita], theC'amberwell beauty [Pa[)ilio Antio, 
pa], tortoise shell butterfly [Papilio Urticfe], American comma 
butterfly [Grapta Comma], thethistle butterfly [Pyrameis Cardui]., 
The foregoing are among the larger and more attractive of our 
butterflies. Below we mention a few of the more handsome of 
our moths. Attacus Luna, tlie five spotted sphinx [Sphinx 



AXD ITS PIOXEERS. lol 

■QuinqueniacuUitiis], the Carolina spliinx [8. Carolina] the satelli- 
tia hawk moth [Pliilanipelus Satellitia], the blind smerinthus 
[Smerinthus Plxeo?c.'ata], sesia [Sesia Thysbe] the beautiful deiopeia 
Deiopeia Bella], the proniethea moth [Attacu^ Promethea], the 
polyphemus moth [A. Polyi>liemus], regal walnut moth [C'erato- 
campa KegalisJ , six inch across. The senus Catocala comprises the 
common wood ni<^th, all alike on the upi)er wing, but the four 
species differ in under wings, one l)eing red and l)lack, one white 
and black, one yellow and black and the other black. We will 
close this chapter by once more calling the reader's attention to the 
importance of a careful study of our insects. The great damage 
done by these little creatures forces upon us very strongly a sense 
•of how important it is to know all we can of them. "SVe don't 
mean simply catching and sticking pins in them, l>ut a careful 
study of their habits and food, also their benefit and injury toman. 
If our agricultural society offers premiums on collections of insects, 
let it be only for named specimens, to be accompanied by an essay 
that will be of practical value. 

FLORA OF STARK COUNTY. 

To give anything like an adequate idea of this sirlyect upon 
these pages is almost impossible. For, in the first place the bot- 
any of this region has been but imperfectly investigated, and en- 
tirely satisfactory information cannot be gained from any work 
yet published, although of these "Wood's Manual " is no doubt 
the most valuable to the western student. 

And the most indefatigable collector of specimens in our county 
to-day, can give but a faint impression of the flora that once deck- 
ed our prairies with a thousand hues, before the plowshare had 
scarred the green sod, or the hand of man made remunerative 
what was once only beautiful. 

It would seem that few if any in all the length and breadth of 
Illinois have thought of saving a spot of prairie, untouched of 
cultivation, to show what wild luxuriance once spread over all 
the " Garden .State." And in the parks and squares of our towns 
and cities, few seem to have thought of beautifying them with 
native trees and flowers, yet these only need to be planted and 
left to themselves to far excede in beauty, the sickly exotics i)in- 
ing for home. Our gardens even are occupied by foreigners, only 
nursed into Idooming in a strange landl)y ceaseless skill and care, 
while our own ex(iuisite lady slipper, and delicate dicentra are 
consigned to neglect and oblivion. When our i)rairies were yet 



132 STAKK COUXTY 

unbroken and " woad^ in their wild beauty dressed/' they con- 
tained hundreds of rare Hora] g-ems, many of wliieh are gone for- 
ever, and more are hastening from us, shrinking from the rough 
treatment they receive. Time was, when admired by the Indian 
maiden, the queen of the prairie decked lierself in pearly dew 
droj)s, and the moccasin flower swelled with pride as the tawuey 
mother titted it to tlie foot of her lirst-born. Hut the one has left 
us to return nj m )re, and the other seeks to hide itself in deep- 
est, loneliest woods. Following these remarks will be 
found a list of a few of our best known wild flowers, giving 
their common and botanical names. Any green house or gai'den 
might be proud of such an array of treasures, yet we doubt if 
half of them can be found in all the county under cultivation. 

The spring beauty, (Claytonia Caroliniana] which scarcely waits 
for the snow to melt, so eager is it to welcome the children, its 
o!dy friends. Closely following it is the Blood Root, [Sanguinaria 
Canadensis,] and the several varieties of Liverwort, [Hepatica 
Triloba] varying from purple to blue, pink and white. The Blue 
Bell, [3Iei-tensia Virginica,] left too, to be the joy of childhood; 
tons, still a fairy wand bringing again the time when we were 
young, and life was fair. And then our violets, so beautiful in 
song and story, but despised and down-trodden in reality. We, 
still have the Yellow Violet, which the first breath of spring 
" calls from the last year's leaves below." This botanists call [Vi- 
ola Pubescens,] the Larkspur leaved Violet [V. Delphinifolia,] and 
the common blue Violet ; sometimes the Forget-me-not of lovers 
and poets. But the Violet like its sentiment, modesty, is lamen- 
tably out of fashion, and we perhaps ought to beg pardon from 
l)rogressive people for wasting ^\■ords upon it here. 

The Marsh Marigold, [Caltha Palustris,] the Columbine, [Aqu- 
iiegia Canadensis] and the wild Bell flower, [Campanula Ameri- 
cana) are very common in our woods. And there you see 

" The larkspui\ plant of ancient name 
Adcan('e /lis liaagJitij ensign high.'''' 

And 

" The coreopsis, cheerful as ihe smile 

That brightens on the cheek of youth, and sheds 

A gladness o'er the aged.''^ 

AVe have several wild phlox, the P. Glaberrima, P. Pilosa, P. 



AND IT,-< PJONEEK^:. 183 

lleptaiis and l\ IMiu-ulata ; the last ])eiii<^ our ^\■ild sweet Wil- 
liam. Tlu' others are now scarce or extinct in the county. The 
j)ainte(l cuj) or Indian pink ({'astilleia C'oL'cinea), Indian turnip 
(ArisieniaTriphylluni). Not a niDre curious or beautiful foliage 
l)laut can he found than this; yet how little appreciated. The 
yellow lady's slipper (t'ypripediuiu Pul)escens), the small white 
lady's slipper (('. C'andiduni), and the sui)erl> purple lady's slip- 
l)er (('. Spectabile). The g-org-eous (jueen of the prairie (8i)inea 
Lobata) with its nia<>'nificcnt cluster of peach-l)lossoni tinted 
flowers rising- six feet above the i)rairie — now probably extinct in 
kStark. The curious yet beautiful spider wort (Tradescantia Vir- 
ginica), the Dutchman's breeches (I)lcentra t'ucullaria). The two 
beautiful Mild balsams or touch-me-nots (Impatiens Fulva and 
I. Pallida) are real gems and still common in rich damp woods 
and shady places. The adder's tongues or dogtooth violets are 
worthy of a place in our garden. A\'e Jiave two varieties well 
known to every cliild wlio wanders along- our wooded streams in 
the spring-. T]u> white and yellow adders' tongues (Erythroniuni 
Albidum, and E. Americana). Of lilies we have tliree kinds, 
the American Turks-cap lily(Li!iuni Sui)erbum), the wild (Gr- 
ange red lily (Lilium Philadelphicum) and the lily of the valley 
(Convallaria Multiflora). This last is scarce and jtrobably impor- 
ted in some manner. Of water lilies we once had four handsome 
varieties. The sweet scented white water lily (Nympha'a Odora- 
ta) is still to be found in the ponds south-east of Bradford. The 
N. Tuberosa, a i)Ui-(' white lily is now extinct in the county; 
■while the N. Alba, also white, is to l)e met with but rarely. The 
fourth is a yellow water lily, much inferior to the others (Nu}>har 
Advena). The common May a})ple (Podophyllum Peltatum) 
and the arrow head (Sagittaria Variabilis). 

AVe have also culvers root (Veronica Virg-iniea), two varieties 
of lobelia and a])out twenty varieties of asters. ]Many of them in 
their wild state inferior, but capable of much improvement by 
l^roper cultivation. Tlie dandelion (Taraxacum IJens-Leonis) now 
«o common every where was first brought to 8tark county by John 
Culbertson, and the first in the county grew on the east side of 
the public square, at Toulon, where jMr. Cun)ertson had emptied 
the straw in which his tpieensware was p-acked. The Hiljiscus 
Africanus was imported by Dr. Thomas Hall, and from his gar- 
den has spread into nearly every lane in the county. Of anemo- 
nes we have three kinds, the wood A. (A. Nemorosa), the A. Mr- 
ginica and A. I*ennsylvanica. 

The early butter cup (llanunculus Fasciculai-is), the creeping 



134 STARK COUNTY 

buttercup (R. Repens), the callirrhoe triangulata, with its showy 
crimson or purple flowers. The wood sorrel (Oxalis Acetosella)^ 
the spotted craues-bill (Geranium ]Maculatum), the butter-and- 
eggs (Antirrhinum Linaria), now a very common flower, but im- 
ported from Europe ; red root (Ceanothus Americanus); wild sen- 
na (Cassia Marilandica), a large bright yellow flower, growing in 
marshy places ; spiked loosestrife (Lythrum 8aliearia); cat-tail 
flag (Typha Latifolia); large blue flag (Iris Versicolor); purple 
night shade or birth root (Trillium Erettum); Avild squills (Scilla 
Fraseri), well known by its long loose receme of pale blue flow- 
ers ; the golden rod (8olidago), there are many varieties of this^ 
fo.ver; the cowslip or shooting star (Dodecatheon Meadia), white 
and yellow varieties of this may be found. 

We close this list of flowers not because it is the end, but to 
mention a few of our leading ornamental vines growing wild. 

First comes the delicate clematis (C. Virginica). 

" To later summer^ s fragrant breath 
Clematis^ feathery garlands dance 
And graceful there her filets iceaves.''^ 

Then comes the bitter sweet (Celastras Scandens); the trumpet 

^creeper (Tecoma Radicans) is becoming vei-y scarce wild, but is 

fast gaining favor under culti\'ati<)n ; the wild balsam apple or 

wild cucumber (EchinocystisLobata) and the yellow honey suckle 

(Lonicera Flava). 

Our trees are too well known to need mention here, and the fact 
that native trees are better adapted for shade and ornament than 
imported ones is last gaining ground. And we hope ere long to 
see grand old oakes, maples, and lindens taking the place of half 
dead stunted evergreens. 

Our wild fruits are all natives except the red raspberry (Rubus 
tStrigosus ) which first started near a road leading south from Tou- 
lon, toward Josiah Moftitt's, on the farm of Solomon AVilkinson, 
from seed left by a company of movers who 'camped there one 
night, when the land belonged to Ira Ward, jr. 

Among the medicinal plants found in our county, not already 
mentioned among the flowers, are : 

Iris tulierosa ; wormwood (Artemesia Vulgaris); horse mint 
(Monarda Punctata); speedwell (Veronica Officinalis); James- 
town weed (Datura Stramonium); boneset (Eupatorium Perfolia- 
tum) ; Valerian Officinalis; Asarabacca, scarce; barberry 
(Berberis Canadensis) ; Soloman's seal (Polygonatum Biflorum, 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 18.") 

aiuj P. Gigantenni) ; yellow water dock (Rumex Auroa) ; garlic 
(Allium Canadeiiisis) ; penny royal (Hedoonia Pulegioides) ; hops 
(Hamulus Lupulus) ; horehound (Marrul)ium ^^ulg•are) ; bur- 
dock (Lappa Major) ; catnip (Nepeta cataria) ; bugle weed (Lyco- 
pus Yirginicus) ; and gentian (Gentiana Peranuantha). 



136 PTAiClC COLNTV 



CII A PTEIl V I. 

Oiw Totc/is'.— Ton /oil — 1 1 'j/oui ing — Lafayette — Bradford — ( - is//e/oii 
—Duncan— Their Past llhtoru and- Present Prosperity. 

Mr. Ford, in his little work on Pntnum and adjoinintj;- counties, 
gives the following statement : " Stark obtained its full share of 
towns during the speculating mania of 1886-7. 

" WYOMING was the lir.st laid off, in JMay .1836, O.scEor.A was 
situated on a large piece of ground eleven iniles north of Wyom- 
ing, with a fine ' Washington square' in the centre. It was sur- 
veyed July 7th, '[H',V), for Hol)ert JMoore, .James C. Armstrong, 
Thomas J. Ilurd, 1). C. Enos and l^^dward Dickenson, proprietors. 

" Moi'LTox, three miles west of AVyoming, M'as laid off in Au- 
gust, 1836, by Hubert Schuyler, Russell 11. Nevins, William 
Couch, Abijah Fisher, and David Lee. 

" AlAssir.Lox ^\•as situated seven mikvs nearly due soutli of tlie 
present town-of Toulon, not far from tlie southern boundary of 
the county. Its projector and proprietor was Mi: .Stephen Trickle. 
Date of survey, April, 1837. 

" L.VFAYETTK, Oil the westcru borders of the county, was laid 
out in .July, 1836. Of this.list, Lafayette and AV'yoming are the 
only survivors; Osceola town i)lat was vacated by legislative en- 
actment in February, 18-").'); and as we believe never had a house 
upon it. Moulton and Massillon are no more." 

l>ut of those towns that have survived the changes of thirty or 
forty years, and i)roved their right to live by taking on of late si 
more vigorous growtli, we propose to give a somewhat extended 
notice. 



A XI) ITS rroNEEItr?. 137 

TOl'LOX. 

All act (if llu' li',:^'islaturi' of tlic state of Illinois, to lofatf tho 
county -^cat of Stark county, \\a^ jias.-od .^Voruary 27tli, 1S4!. 

It was also enacted tliat Jolui J)a\vs(;ii, Peter Van Bergen and 
AViiliani F. Elkin, all of the county of Sano-anion, be the conunis- 
sioners to locate said towii. .Vnd on the ITtli day of May, 1H41, 
the ahove nientione<l conindssionei's met at tiie liouse of Colonel 
William II. I lenderson, and took an oath to faithfully <lischarge 
the duties of their ottice, viz : to fairly consider the i)ros))ects and 
interests of all i)arts of the county and to locate the county stat 
as near the geographical centre thereof, as the nature of the land 
and otiier rele\-ant circumstances ])ermitted. After due consider- 
ation of all claims and interests, as ]>resented to them, they 
l>roceeded to locate said county seat on ninety rods (!)() rods) square 
of land, owned and afterwards deeded to the county by John 
jMiller and his wife Charlotte IMilier, bei)ig part of tlie south- 
west (piarter of section 11), in townshij) i;-} north, range 6 east of 
the ith i)rincipal meridian, now Touhni townslii]). Tlie naiiie of 
our town was also decided on at the time of its location, no doubt 
through the influence of Colonel Henderson. 

When ^Ir. JMiller doiiate(l to tlic t-ounty tliis ninety rods 
of choice land, on condition it should lie made the shire town or 
county si>at, he reserved on the south and west sides thereof cer- 
tain s(ir.ares to be sold for his own l;enelit, also the- privilege of 
removing all standing tindier on the town plot, nidess it sliould 
be afterwards |)urchas('d of him. ^\nil tlure \\'ei'e on, or near, 
our public s(piare a luuuber of tine native oaks, and other trees 
growing for years after the location and i)latting of the town, and 
some of our more sensible and public si)irited citizens made stren- 
uous efforts to induce our county commissioners to i)urchase these 
trees and preserve them as a ]tublic benefit as well as an adorn- 
nieid to our siiuure and streets. Jkit, unfortunately they were 
imsuccessful, and wei'e compelled to see them choi)ped down and 
api)lie(l to "base uses." And although later efforts have done 
nuich to protect and beautify our sijuare, yet another centennial 
])eriod must elai)se ere such giant oaks as were then sacrificed can 
by any means be induced to si)read their sheltering arms above 
our descendants. Jt has been said " v.hoever plants a tree is a 
l)ublic benetactor ;" we almost think whoever cuts one down, ex- 
cept when they stand in the way of necessary im})rovements 
ought to be set down as an enemy to the interests of his race, i>ar- 
ticularly in a region naturally as netirly treeless as ours. 



138 STARK COUNTY 

The first sale of lots in Toulon, took place on the 14th and VAh 
days of September, 1841 — and wlien lately looking over the list of 
the one hundred and twenty-two i)urehasers A\e felt teni})te(l to 
insert the whole roll of names just as they stand on the old re- 
cord. They would make a good representation of our early set- 
tlers. But when we reflect that but few eyes will ever meet these 
pages that would see in them anything but names, we forbear ; al- 
though to the few, the utterance of each would call up a once fa- 
miliar figure from the recesses of the shadowy past, and with 
most would come bright memories of pioneer days " when we 
were young and life was fair," and to these visions are often link- 
ed recollections of " little deeds of kindness," gleams of the friend- 
liness of yore! But enough of this, we are surely revealing the 
fact that we stand on life's hill top and the fairer scenes are all be- 
hind. 

To proceed with the business of these first sales, we are struck 
Avith the small amount paid for lots tliat have since brought much 
larger sums. The old home of ^Ir. Turner, north of Dr. Cham- 
berlain's drug store, and west of the scpiare, was originally i)ur- 
chased for $4">.<I0, while lot one, in block fourteen, (the site of the 
1st Baptist C'hurchj considered to be very choice was bought by a 
Knox county man, Z. Cooley, for $70.7r>. :\[r. Theodore F. If urd 
has the honor of investing the largest sum in anyone lot at the 
first sales, he having ])aid $7o, for lot six, in block nine. Very 
many went for $U) or $2J apiece, that are now worth hundreds, if 
not thousands. 

The second sale of lots was ordered to take place April 2d, 1849. 
Tliere were but thirty-two lots sold on this occasion, the highest 
price, $(50, being paid by Simon Heller for lot (>, in block 5, the 
present residence of Rev. R. L. McC'ord. 

Owing as we suppose to the munificence of the County Com- 
missioners, a numl)er of lots were reserved at the date of these 
general sales, for eluircli and scliool }»urposes, and lot K), in l)lock 
three, at the corner of Vine and \VasliingU)n streets, was set 
apart distinctively for " a female seminary." And the county ac- 
cordingly erected the building that still occupies that site, and 
for a time attempts were made to sustain a seminary, modifying 
the rei;ulations so as to admit both sexes. But it was soon dis- 
covered nothing of this kind could supersede the pul»lic schools in 
a town of small size, and application was made to the legislature 
for an act legalizing the sale of this property to the school trus- 
tees to be thereafter used for common school purposes — which act 
passed February, ISGT. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 130 

Tliere :*eein to have been three different acts of incorporation 
endorsed by tlie town of Toulon. The first, under some ji'eneral 
provisions, took place in October, is")?, the vote standing tliirty- 
four ap:ainst two. The first board of officers were Oliver Whita- 
ker, Allies A. Fuller, AVilliani Lownian, Isaac V. Eeed; E. Ij. 
Emery, president. This Board decided what should be the cor- 
porate limits of said town, passed the usual code of ordinances; 
but the provisions under which they worked do not seem to have 
met the wishes of the citizens, generally, for in ISo? a special 
charter was obtained and new regulations entered into. Then af- 
ter the change in the state constitution in 1870, they again revised 
their organization making it comply with the general incorpora- 
tion law, enacted at that time. 

The town consisted at first of sixteen blocks, or fifteen l)esides 
the court house square, but has received several large additions, 
Whitaker and Henderson's, lying north and east of original plat, 
through which runs the line of the Peoria and Rock Island 
Railway, and two large additions by ]Mr, C'ulbertson, known 
respectively as Culbertson's eastern and western additions to the 
town of Toulon. These additions far exceed in space the original 
site, donated by Mr. Miller, and are most of them, under good im- 
provement. Mr, Rhodes has also surveyed off some good build- 
ing lots in the grove to the south-west, and Mr. Turner is propri- 
etor of the inviting sites tliat lie to the south and south-east. But 
the latter gentleman has always declined to sever his broad acres 
into small suburban building lots. 

The first Court House, a plain wooden structure built to meet 
present wants, was completed in 1S42, and served many impor- 
tant purposes for the county and town, not only as a seat of jus- 
tice, but sometimes as church and school liouse too. The old jail 
was built a year or so later, perhaps, in 1844, by Ira Ward, jr. ; 
a man from Knox county by the name of Hammond, doing the 
mas< >n work. This, still serves to hold rather insec.'urely , however, 
Stark county criminals, and it can hardly be said that its accom- 
modations or management, reflect any great credit upon the 
county officials who control this matter. The present court house 
is a substantial and well proportioned brick edifice, \\'ith airy and 
convenient offices on the first floor. Standing as it does on a 
s<iuare shaded by a fine growth of young trees, it is a pleasant 
and comely picture for the eye to rest upon ; one for which a 
good many of our citizens would be willing to fight valiantly 
should its possession ever be seriously disputed — as some see fit 
to predict. It was erected in 185(5 at a cost to the county of $12,(H)(). 



140 STAUK corxTV 

The first school in Toulon, was tau;»-ht by 3Iiss Elizahi'th Bus- 
Avell of Osceola, in an ui)i)er room of the old court house, in 1848, 
Miss Susan (Jill, who afterwards beL-ainc t]u> first wife of Stephen 
AV. Eastman, also tau.y-ht a select school in the same or an adjoin- 
ing- room. 3Iiss Booth also conducted a <>'Ood school here l)efore 
any school house was l)uilt, in a room belonging to Mr. Koyal 
Arnold, on the i)remises now owned l)y JNIrs. Emily Culbertson, 
directly west of Mr. AVhitaker's residence. And W. W. Drum- 
jiiond one in his own house. 

The first school house built in the place, was the " old l)rick " 
near the wi'stern line of the town, facing Jefferson street. This 
was a one story affair, built under a contract M'ith Ira Ward, jr., 
at an exi)ense to the new district, it is said, of ?<(ji)(). Brick was 
burned specially for this edifice by W. B. Sweet, and the lumlier 
had to be hauled from the Illinois river. 

T. .1. Henderson was the first teacher who occupied the build- 
ing, and ]Miss Booth followed him during the summer of 1.S49. 
Miss Boyce had an independent school in Masonic Hall when 
that stood near the INI. E. Cliurch, facing Henderson street, and 
N. F. Atkins and wife were the first teachers in the seminary. 
They occupiinl it under contract, or ])ermission from the supervi- 
sors. 

But as has lu'en remurkc'l, tliese schools although good of their 
kind, and certainly possessing some advantages over the common 
schools, could not l)e made self-supi)orting. So measures were ta- 
Ivcn to secure the seminary for the use of the district schools, as 
before stated, the grammar and high school departments occupy- 
ing it for about twenty years, and thus with the " old brick " for 
the primary dei)artment, the wants of the people were met for a 
time. But in l>i()n two new frame buildings were erected in the 
northern and eastern l)orders of the town, to accommodate the 
growing numbers of primary scholars in those divisions. This 
arrangement sufficed until the beginning of the present decade, 
when the ])roject of a new and improved school house, large 
enough to accommodate all grades under one roof and one i>rinei- 
pal, began to claim attention. 

It required some time and patient labor on the part of our 
school iioard to settle all the details of this transaction satisfocto- 
rily to the peoi)le in the various sectioJis of the town. 

Attemi)ts were made to locate the proposed l)uilding l)y vote of 
the citizens, but this was found impracticable, and after much 
i^onsidi'ration the board decided to purchase the lots now occupied 
by the structure, from IMrs. S. A. Dunn. 



AND ITS PIOXEEUS. 141 

The contraet for Iniihlinti: was taken by Hiram II. J*ierce of Pe- 
oria ; ground was broken in June 1S74, and the structure finished 
ready for oecupation the February followinjj,'. 

It is built of briek, is two stories Jiigh. ^lain buikliuf? GGxr)7, ^ 
witli an addition in tlie rear 8") x 21. Both stories have halls 11 
feet wide, runnin,i>- len<!:thwise of the buildin*;:, the lower story an 
additional hall 10 feet wide, running from main front entrance 
and joining- the other liall. 

Tliere are three rooms below, o2x2t!, each, four rooms above, one 
for grannnar school 152x20, the same dimensions for high school 
room, llecitation and Library rooms, each 2(;xU). All thesti 
rooms have attached to them suitable cloak rooms. The height 
of tlie lower story is 14 feet, the ui)i)er, 14]. Tiie whole height of 
building from ground to ridge, ")(» feet. Surmounted by a cupola 
27 feet high, making a total of 77 feet. The building is warmed 
by two of Ijotyc's hot air furnaces. Tlie furniture is mostly new, 
manufactured by the Sterling school furniture company and is 
giving good satisfaction. This house will comfortably seat three 
hundred ])Ui)ils, and re(|uires th(^ services of five or six teachers. 
The cost of building, including grounds, furniture, out buildings, 
with et ceteras, was about $2( »,()()(). 

This expense was met by a district tax, levied by the voters of 
the district. 

The teachers who presided over the various departments dur- 
ing the year closing in June, 1S7G, were as follows : 

Mr. Frank Mathews, principal ; Mr. jManning Hall, in the 
grammar school ; Miss Sarah Berfleld, in the intermediate ; and 
Misses Pauline Shallenberger and Kate Keffer, in the i)rimary de- 
jtartments. 

The board of directors for the same year, were Mr. Benjamin 
Turner, Dr. Bacmeister and Mr. John Berfield. The two former 
associated with Captain Brown Awn'e tlie board under whose di- 
rection, the fine school house descrilied, was jdanned and comple- 
ted for use. 

Toulon cannot compete of late years in the line of expensive 
building with her sister town AVyoming, which latter claims on 
good authority to have invested $2i)2,r)29 in building since the 
completion of their first railroad, some six years ago. 

We suppose it is possible for a town to over build, as well as 
under build, for the general good; we may at least claim that 
Toulon has not committed the former mistake. 

The residents of this t(jwn are wont to reflect that their capital- 
ists, are not as public spirited a.s they might be, or they could 



142 STARIv COUNTY 

show churches and liotels l^efitting- the county seat, and reflecting 
credit upon tlie taste and liberality of its inhalutants. But in au 
age and land so prone to extravagant expenditure, perchance such 
l)rudence should be commended. . 

Had INIr. CulVtertson lived to dispose of tlie large estate he had 
ac(iuired, Toulon ^^•ould have doubtless reaped an enduring ad- 
vantage. It was a favorite remark of his that " he had made his 
money in Stark County and he intended to spend it here." Many 
plans for improving the town, were rife in his active mind during 
the closing years of his life. The grist and woolen mills were his 
tirst attempt in this direction, and while he never expected to 
reap great profits himself from this investment, he did hope to 
make these mills a pul)lic benefit, and link his name with home 
enterprises and industries. ' 

But as it is, if our churches and business houses are as a rule 
plain and unpretending, they are owned by the parties occupying 
them, and are not encum]:>ered with mortgages. 

The brick block occupied l)y B, C. Follett, is fully up to the 
times, as is the l^anking house of Sam'l Burge ti- Co., and a still 
larger block is now being erected, the lower story to be the store 
of Nowlan and Rhodes, the upper to be built by the town for a 
public hall. 

And if our growth as a town has been slow compared with 
some others, it has been healthy and permanent. There has l)een 
no going backward, no mushroom or gourd like excrescences 
springing up in a night to be l)lighted on the morrow, to the ruin 
and nK^rtification of their projectors. Even the opening of the 
long desired railroad brought A\ith it no mad speculation, such as 
was rife in other places. The Toulonites rejoiced at the music of 
the whistle, but they rejoiced sol^erly and with discretion ; thus 
month by month and year by year, business has increased as the 
facilities for it have multijTlied, and tliis centennial year would 
make a highly creditable showing, could we command the exact 
figures which we cannot, therefore must content ourselves with 
the estimate hiade for us, at an expense of consideralde time and 
trouble, of the business of 1S71, although that was hardly an av- 
erage l)usiness year in the west. 

Tlie character of Toulon society, has somehow, generally har- 
monized with this steady flow of events. We have in no sense 
been a " fast people." But our habits have more resembled those 
of the older eastern towns. A few people of culture easily gave 
tone to the social life of tlie place, when this life was in its infan- 
cy, and perhaps it is not too much to say, it has never lost this 



AND ITS noNEERS. 143 

bent, as may ha seen by the fine literary societies that have usual- 
ly flourished here, some of which would ha^•e done no discredit 
to the taste and aciiuirements of large cities. 

SOCIETIES. — MASONIC. 

The first of tlie secret l)enevolent societies, organized in Toulon, 
was "Toulon Lodge" Numljer 93, A. F. & A. M., which was 
chartered October 20th, 1850. 

The first recorded meeting of the Masonic fraternity was on the 
2oth of INIarch, I80O, being a meeting held to consider the project 
of organizing a lodge. The names upon the charter are : Oren 
Maxfield, William Rose, W. W. Drummond, Ellison Annis, 
Captain Henry Butler, William A Reed, and General Samuel 
Thomas. From these the Grand Master C. G. Y. Taylor, appoin- 
ted W. W. Drummond, W. M.; William Rose, S. W., and Gren 
Maxfield, J. W. 

On the l!)th of November, 1850, the lodge held its first election 
with the following result : William F. Thomas, Treasurer ; T. J. 
Henderson, Secretary ; William A. Reed, S. D.; General Samuel 
Thomas, J. D.; Simon S. Heller, S. S.; Thomas J. Wright, ,J. S.; 
C. F. White, Tyler. 

This lodge has always been prosperous and harmonious. For 
many years it was the only lodge between Peoria and Cambridge, 
and is the parent of all the lodges in the county. From it was 
formed Stark lodge, Numljer 501, at Lafayette, in 1865; Wyoming 
lodge. Number 470, in 18()(5, and Bradford lodge number 514 in the 
same year. 

At the present writing, Toulon lodge numbers sixty-four resi- 
dent members, with the following officers : George A. Lowman, 
W. M.; T. M. Shallenl)erger, S. AV.; Levi Silliman, J. W.; Benja- 
min Turner, Treasurer ; David Tinlin, Secretary ; George White, 
S. I).; .James Dexter, J. D.; Samuel Thomas, Tyler. 

The total number of those who have l)een connected with the 
lodge in the past twenty-five years is one hundred and seventy- 
six. Of this number, as far as known, but sixteen are dead, four 
of whom lost their lives in the late war. 

The following named persons have filled the " Master's " chair 
and rank as such in the order named : W. W. Drummond, Wil- 
liam B. Smith, Alexander INIoncrief, Thomas J. Henderson, 
.James A. Henderscjn, Elisha Greenfiekl. George Bradley, INLirtin 
Shallenbeger and G. A. Lowman. 



% 



1-14 STARK COUXTV 

The lodge owns " Masonic Hall " and tiie o-round upon which 
it stands; is out of debt and lias a healthy treasury. 

ODD FELU)\V.S. 

On the 8th day of November, is.")], Stark lodge, number !i(i, I. 
O. O. F., was organized at Toulon, by the officers and brothers of 
Marshall lodge, number (V^, at Henry, Illinois, under a eharb^r 
from the grand lodge of the state of Illinois, dated October ITtli, 
1851. ^ 

' The charter members were Amos P. (Jill, Alexander Mon- 
crief, Oliver Wliitaker, Thomas J. Wright, and AVilliam Clark. 

The lodge continued to increase in numbers and did much good 
in the \\-ay of relief to the members and their families up to the 
time of the breaking out of the war in 18G1, when by an order of 
the grand lodge in 18G2, this lodge was suspended. 

It remained suspended until April, 18GG, at which time it 
was resuscitated and ever since has done good work. The lodge 
has always been progressive and enterprising, and in the summer 
of 1875 erected one of the finest lodge rooms in the county, over 
the bank of Sam'l Burge ct Co., at an expense, with furniture of 
two thousand two hundred dollars. At this present date, (INIay, 
1876) the lodge numbers sixty-four members, and increasing veiV 
last. The first officers of this lodge were Alexander Moncrief, 
N. G.; Amos P. Gill, V. G.; Thomas J. Wright, T., and Oliver 
Whitaker, R. S. 

The present, ri876) William W. Rhodes, N. G.; William Low- 
man, V. G.; William Chamberlain, T.; Stacy Cowperth\\'ait, R. 
S.; 01i\e.- Wliitaker, P. S.; John M. Brown, I). G. M.; Daniel 
S. Hewitt, G. R. 

EASTERN STAR. 

On the 17th day of February, 1871, Toulon Cliapter, number G3 
of the Eastern Star, was organized by Mr. Thomson. This or- 
ganization has not flourished as it should have done, and as it no 
doubt will do. At present it numbers fifty-four members, enough 
to make it a perfect success was the proper spirit infused in the 
fifty-four. 

The first officers were William Lowman, W. P.; Mrs. E. Low- 
man, W. M.; Mrs. R. A. Turner, A. M.; Charles Myers, Secreta- 
ry ; Mrs. S. Guy re, Treasurer; Mrs. M. Myers, Conductress, and 
Mrs. A. Thomas, A. C. ' < 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. H5 

The present officers are James K. P. Ijowman, W. P.; Mrs, K. 
A. Turner, W. M.; Mrs. (i. S. Lawrence, A. M.; Mr. George 
Bradley, Secretary; Miss S. 11. Turner, Treasurer; Mrs. A. 
Thomas, Conductress, and Mrs. S. Keflf'er, A. C. 

TK.^tPKKAXt'E.— WASIIINGTOXIANS. 

Tlie Toulonites first orcranized for work in the direction of the 
temperance reformation, on the Washinj^tonian plan. Tliis was 
as early as 1845. 

SONS OF TKMPEKAXCE. 

The second temperance society orf>-anized in Toulon, was a divi- 
sion of the Sons of Temperance. Composed as it was entirely of 
men, and nearly all of them men of ability, it flourished as no 
other temperance organization ever did in the county. They were 
at the formation of the order nearly all middle aged men, yet in 
the lapse of 2.'-! years there has been but one death among the char- 
ter members (Ira Ward, sen.) The back sliding has been rather 
more marked. Prolnibly no charter ever granted in the county to 
any order bore names of as many men of note as did this one 
granted in February, 184S. These are John W. Henderson, Mar- 
tin Shallenberger, Benjamin Turner, Patrick M. Blair, Thomas 
J. Henderson, Ira Ward, senior, Wheeler B. Sweet, Oliver Whit- 
aker, W. W. Drummond, Simon S. Heller, John A. Williams, 
Ira Ward jr., and Samuel G. Butler. 

Nearly all these names will be familiar to our politicians, as al- 
most every office from W. W. Drummond as constable, to T. J. 
Henderson, member of congress, within the gift of the people has 
been filled by them. The state senate, legislature, constitutional 
convention, judge, circuit clerk, sheriff, county treasurer, county 
clerk, and perhaps others that do not occur to us now. Under the 
guidance of such men as these the Sons of Temperance flurished 
and had a wide spread and much felt influence. They built the 
building now known as " Masonic Hall," just north of the M. 
E. church, from \\'hich place it was moved when purchased by 
the Masons. This was, at the time .of building, quite a hall for 
Toulon. One by one these man left the town, or tlie lodge at least, 
and it passed into history. 

GOOD TEMPTiAIlS. 

From the decease of the " old Sons of Temperance," until 18G3, 
Toulon remained without any temperance society. In October of 
10 



146 STARK COUNTY 

this year was instituted Arthur lo(l<;e, number 454, Independent 
order of Good Templars. Cliarter members, A. C. Price, William 
Lowman, S. S. Kaysbier, John L). Walker, 31. A. Fuller, Samuel 
Burge, Charles Myers, Amos P. Gill, Patrick Nowlan, Mary P. 
Nowlan, Dell Whitaker, Mary E. Pcatty, Mrs. M. A. jNIyers, 
and Mrs. K. 8. Fuller. 

This society so long as it remained under the control of such 
persons as the names here recorded, did an excellent work and 
flourished and .yi'ew. But here was tlie cause of its death also. 
Not enough care was exeicised in choice of members, and it was 
very soon evident that the " young folks " were going to " run 
the machine." 

Several attempts have l)een made to organize for a thorough 
temperance work in Toulon. Some of these budded and promis- 
ed fair, but none seemed al)le to withstand the elements with 
wdiich they had to contend. Much good was accomplished l)y 
these societies, but they seemed to lack the vigor necessary to 
give them permanence. To supply this defect it was determined 
to try once more a secret society; so on the 17th day of March, 
187o, Toulon division number 3, S. O. T. was organized witli the 
following offtcers : Levi Silliman, W. P.; Oliver Whitaker, P. 
W. P.; Mrs. Mary Merrimau, W. A.; Oliver White, F. S.; Frank 
Eastman, U. S.; H. Y. Goc frey, T. 

This lodge has certainly grown very rapidly, and at the present 
writing (August 22nd, 1870) has a membership of one hundred 
and thirty. It is still in its infancy, yet it has accomplished 
great results, and much is to be hoped for in the future. 

The present dicers are Orlando Brace, W. P.; Robert H. Price, 
P. W. P.; 3Iiss Bell Godfrey, W. A.; Miss Ida Pvvder, F, S.; 
Manning Hall, 11. S.; H. Y. Godfrey, T. « 

TOULOX CHURCHES. 

The gre:it hierarchy devised and (>stablished by the Vresleys 
and their co-workers in England, ab^ut the middle of the last 
century, and a few years later in America, l>y authority of which 
missionaries still go forth "to the uttermost parts of the earth," is 
so diverse in its nature and operations from the little isolated bo- 
dies <jf l)elievers we are wont to designate pioneerchurches, tbat it 
is difficult to fairly compare their respective workings, or the 
legitimate results thereof. 

That master organizer, John Wesley, ('eslgned to develop a 



AXD ITS PIONEERS. 147 

great central jxiwer tliat should be to th(^ most distant "society," 
or obscure "class" what tlu' heart is to the hiinian anatomy, send- 
ing life and activity to the ftirthest extremity. And a hundred 
years of trial have but proved the wisdom of his i)lan for utiliz- 
ing all sorts of material, and planting on the outskirts of civiliza- 
tion living centres of intluence, wherever the intrepid itinerant 
could force his way or man or woman be found to lead a class. 

To the peculiar strength of this organization, then, we may 
mainly attribute the fact that the INIethodist is nearly always the 
pioneer church ; although the Roman Catholic is often close upon 
its heels, or even leads the way, as their plans for missionary 
work are somewhat similar. But the elements in any communi- 
ty that attract these two classes of laborers are as distinct as their 
creeds; therefore their fields of labor seldom or never conflict. 
But it is evidently one thing to sustain a "society" thus backed up 
by a central power, which, with outstretching arms jjrotects and 
fosters its numerous offsprings, and quite another, to sustain in a 
new country, a religious body independent of all assistance, or 
with the occasional assistance of some friendly society. 

Thus as early as 1835, twelve years before the first attempt to 
found a resident church was made, Bishop Morris sent a mission- 
ary with head quarters at Peoria, to traverse ihe length and 
breadth of our present county, and finding a lodgement in the 
house of Adam Perry who then lived on what constituted our 
first "Poor Farm," he made arrangements with him to gather to- 
gether and lead a class, to meet in the Essex settlement some sev- 
en or eight miles away. 

iVnd, although jNIr. Perry became one of the first trophies of 
Mormonism in this vicinity, yet a stauncher man v.as found to 
lead tlie class, and Methodism has liad an organized life among us 
from that date. But it could not have Iteen self-sustaining for 
many years judging froin the official records. The first quarterly 
meeting at which this neighborhood was represented in the "Pe- 
oria circuit," the collections amounted to !?."),i>r)and were disbursed 
in the follov.'ing manner : 

John Brown, C. P., $3.39 quarterage ; S. AV. B. Chase, P. E., 36 
cents quarterage, and 7o cents traveling expenses ; wine for sacra- 
ment, 7o cents ; making the total $o.2'). 

At this time, the names of .John AV. Agard and David Bris- 
tol appear as circuit stewards, and Calvin Powell as local preacher. 

The first "class" formed nearer here than the Essex school 
house, we infer from the records, was one led by Caleb P. Flint, 



148 STAKK COUNTY 

and i)robably met in his c'al)in about half a mile south of Toulon 
on property now belonging to ^Nfr. Turner. 

At the date of this entry which is for the year ending- Septem- 
ber, 18-11, a great adyance had l)een made in the matter of reven- 
ue for the "Wyoming circuit," of which we then formed part, as 
the funds amounted to $213.07, which were distributed as fol- 
lows : 

S. R. Beggs, $142.75 quarterage and $1.87 traveling expenses ; 
(Jeorge AVhitman, $')9.o2 quarterage and oO cents traveling ex- 
penses ; X. (}. Berryman, $1(5. lo quarterage and $1.75 traveling 
expenses ; wine for sacrament, 7o cents ; making a total of $213.07. 

There was also $11.50 raised for the relief of the poor, this year ; 
who they were is not recorded, but as "Flint's class" only report:^ 
25 cents as their contrilnition at the (piarterly meeting at Wall's 
school house, this locality could not claim much honor in this, 
perhaps initiative benevolent effort. But the reader must bear in 
mind, our town was yet but a name, the scattered settlements 
around offording Vait small congregations, and smaller contribu- 
tions ; for many in those days, had all they could do to supply 
their families with the comforts absolutely necessary to life. 
However, Methodist preaching was sustained regularly at ]Mr. 
Flint's cabin for a year or more, but in the fall or 1842, the servi- 
ces were transferred to the house of John Prior, which then stood 
on one of the lots since owned by M. Bhallenberger. This struc- 
ture, which was of hewn logs, and but partly finished, never hav- 
ing the loft more than half floored, was very serviceable to the 
first comers here, serving them alternately as church and school 
house. 

Mr. Prior was a chairmaker by trade, and not addicted to lux- 
ury ; all the furniture of his dwelling was of the most primitive 
sort. 

The fireplace was rough and large, into which good sized logs, 
could be throM'n when occasion required ; a iK)le, the dimensions 
of a common hand spike served as poker, or lever, and an old saw 
inverted, played shovel. Then as a pointed illustration of the 
proverb, " shoemakers' wives always go barefoot," there never 
was a whole chair seen in this establishment. A number of 
frames with shingles laid on them accommodated the adult list- 
eners, while a turning lathe in the corner, afforded perching pla- 
ces for the little folks. Thus the people gathered, the men wear- 
ing patches without shame, and the girls in sunbonnets, and coarse 
shoes, or the little ones without any, and listened to the Powells 
and Blakes, the Wilkinsons and Boyers of old ; but what our 



AXD ITS PIONEERS. 119 

memory still retains of those meetings with pec^uliar pleasure, is, 
the rich full tenor of Caleb Flint, wliicli when wediled to some of 
AVesley's glowing lines, bore all hearts aloft and made a sanctua- 
ry of the rough dwelling where we met. 

" Brother Prior," too, was wont to sing with the spirit, if not 
with the understanding, and we recall an occasion, after fashion, 
or more thorough culture, had rendered the congi-egation a little 
fastidious as to its music, and a "Brother Woollascroft" led well, 
both the circuit and singing, this "Brother Prior" was cantering 
on, a measure or so in advance of his leader, despite his earnest 
gestures to arrest his course. When liuman nature could endure 
no more, Mr. AVoollascroft said in his most decided tones "Breth- 
ren we will commence that verse again, and not so fast, brother 
Prior," Not before 184G does it appear on the records, that a 
quarterly, or official meeting, was liolden at Toulon. Then Mr. 
Beatty had appeared on the scene and the Toulon class was rising 
into prominence. As we did not have access to this book of re- 
■•cords when we M'rote on the churches of the county generally, 
we feel tempted t(j insert here the names of those present in an 
official capacity at this first meeting in our town. 

A. E. Phelps, Presiding Elder ; John G. Whitcomb, Preacher 
in charge ; (leorge C'. Holmes, Circuit Preacher ; W. C. Cum- 
mings, S. A. P. 

Local preachers : John Cummings, .Jonas J. Hedstfom, Jona- 
than Hodgeson, Charles Bostwick, P. J. Anshutz. 

Exhorters : A. Oziah, David Essex, Wesley Blake. 

Class Leaders : Isaac Thomas, William Hall, Samuel Hal- 
.stead, J. Hazen, I. Berry; Secretary, William M. Pratt. 

Stewards : William Hall, J. H. Willnir, C. Yocum, I. Berry. 

At this meeting the project of building a " meeting house at 
Lafayette" seems to have been publicly broached for the first 
time, and two names that have since been painfully connected, 
are associated on the building committee, AVilbur and Anshutz. 
Indeed they are so often coupled, in these early religious move- 
ments as to strike the reader strangely, if he knows aught of the 
tragedy of 1S6G. 

In 1854, the M. E. Church at Toulon was built. The society 
also own a comfortable parsonage with i)leasant grounds attached. 
It is not so easy to arrive at the exact number who have been, 
.sooner or later, connected with this church, or to record the suc- 
cession of pastors its itinerant system has given it, during the 
past twenty or thirty years. But it has probably had as large a 
inembershi}) as any denomination in the town. Its pews are 



150 STARK cou:nty 

well filled on all occasions of public worsliip, and a large and in- 
teresting- sabbath school is sustained with commendable spirit. 
In the sabbath-school work Mr. Davis Lowman of this church 
has been for years a devoted and successful laborer, not only in 
Toulon, but at various points in the county and state, wherever 
there was Avork to be done. 

CONGIIEC4ATIOXAL CHURCH AT TOULOX. 

Some one has aptly remarked that in the beginning, this church 
was decidedly a "Rhodes church." But in the ft^ct that its for- 
tunes for a while seemed to be bound up with the fortunes of one 
family, it was in no wise singular. Such has, in a greater or less 
degree, been the history of nearly all these early organizations. 

In accordance with a previous notice, given to a faithful few at 
the cabin of Hugh Rhodes, Rev. L. H. Parker and S. G. Wright 
met with a few brethren at the court house, in Toulon, Novem- 
ber, 184G, and duly organized a Congregational church, adopting 
a confession of faith covenant, the charter members being- 
Jonathan Rhodes and Hannah his wife, Hugh Rhodes and his 
wife Julia, C4iles C. Dana and his wife ^Nlary, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Rhodes, 8. Eliza Rhodes and Franklin Rhodes. 

March 13th, 1847, this little church met at the house of Hugh 
Rhodes, where most of the members must have felt quite at home, 
and the follovring additional persons were received into its com- 
munion : Robert Xickolson and wife, .John Pollock, and ]Mrs. 
Jane Bradley, from Presl)yterian church in Ireland, also Orrin 
Rhodes and wife, 3Irs. Matilda Hall, and 3Iiss Eliza Hall ; and 
S. G. Wright, who still resided in the southern part of West 
Jersey township, was chosen pastor. 

May IGth, 1847, it was decided to ask admission for this church 
to the "Central Association," and Hugh Rhodes was chosen to 
represent it before that body. 

August 24th, 1849, the first effort was made toward a church 
building. A committee consisting of Hugh Rhodes, James Flint 
and Charles F, White, was appointed to confer with the M. E, 
church as to co-operating in building; but the plan did not find 
favor in their eyes, so it was decided that each congregation 
should build themselves a house of worship, as fast as the funds 
could possibly be raised for that purpose. The result was, the two 
plain but comfortable edifices that have so long stood side by side 
on Henderson street. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 1;")! 

In 1850, the trustees were instructed to give their votes as "trus- 
tees of the first orthodox Congreg-ational chureli of Toulon," and 
to give their notes to the treasurer of tlie C'hurcli building com- 
mittee for the sum of $20(1. 

In 1S4S, Rev. S. G. Wright became a citizen of Toulon, and de- 
voted himself more fully to the upbuilding of this little commun- 
ity, having been led to choose this place for the scene of his la- 
bors, as he naively remarks in his journal, because of the three 
places under consideration, he thought "Toulon was the least re- 
ligious, and yet it always gave him a good congregation." From the 
date of his location here, the matter of ) >uilding a church was agitated 
but it was at the expense of no small self-denial, and continu- 
ous efforts, that the project was finally brought so near comple- 
tion, and when in March, isr)2, the congregation met in it, all un- 
finished tiiough it was, there was great rejoicing and congratula- 
tion. And although we Toulonites can claim Init little beauty for 
any of our churcli edifices, not as much perhaps as circumstances 
would justify in 1M7(), yet our congregations have set an example 
in this fast age that may teach a good lesson, whether to individ- 
uals or communities, viz: Iniild within your means ! 

Amon* other iteuis, we find in looking over the records of this 
church, that the fashion of "Donation Parties" was inaugurated 
here January 1st, 1853, and the committee of arrangements were 
Mrs. N. Butler, I\Irs. Dr. Hall and Mrs. C. L. Eastman . New Year's 
day was for many years always devoted by the membership of 
this church, to visiting their pastor — a pleasant custom, and we re- 
gret the practice seems falling into disuse. 

The policy of this organization has always been to talve advance 
ground in all matters of moral reform ; upon the slavery and 
temi»erance (juestions it was especially radic;;l under the guid- 
ance of its first i)astor. Applicants for membership were ques- 
tioned as closely as to their opinions on these subjects, as upon 
their faith in holy writ. As an ofiiicial decree they proclaimed in 
1854, "AVe deem Ainerican slavery wholly unjustifiable, and at 
war with the plainest precepts of the New Testament ; therefore, 
we feel bound to set ourselves in all practical ways against it, and 
are resolved, first, we will not knowingly allow any slaveholder 
or apologist for slavery, to occu})y our pulpit or dispense to us 
the sacraments. Secondly, we will sustain no society, or public 
print that we believe sanctions or ap(jlogizes lor American slav- 
ery." Of late years, these sentiments have become popular, l)ut 
it cost something to avow them in 1854, and something more in 



lo2 «TAKK COUNTY 

3841, when but two anti-slavery votes were eastin the county, and 
one of them l)y llev. S. G. ^^'^i,<-•llt ! 

The determination of this body to liave a voice in pu!)Iic mat- 
ters, and malve its influence felt at the ballot box, has called out 
much criticism from some quarters, its enemies declaring- it more 
a political than a religious organization, ami tlenouncing political 
l)reacliing as a curse to any country. 

It comes not within the scope of our duties as a simple chroni- 
cler of events, to determine, even were we competent to do so, 
the wisdom or folly of either side in this controversy. 

Still, we think no one who has carefully studied the current of 
human events, will deny that when strongholds of error or vice 
are to be subdued, some one must be found to lead the assault, to 
make the breach, regardless of ridicule, odium or rei)roach. 

So have the greatest reforms ever grown from small and ol)- 
scure beginnings, but usually at the expense of martyrdom, lite- 
ral, or otherwise, but still mai'tyrdom — names execrated by one 
generation, to be canonized by the next. 

Thus, when " The Lil)erty Party" witli James G. Birney as its 
standard bearer, first threw its colors to the l)reeze in taking as its 
motto " Liberty to the captive, and the bursting of pri;#n doors 
to them that are bound," it was a laughing stock and by-word 
in the land, its few adherents were mobbed and insulted without 
mercy, whenever they attempted to proclaim their views. 

Whigs and democrats combined to call this the " women's and 
preacher's i)arty," and we do not call it a misnomer, but give the 
women and the preachers credit, if credit is the word, for sowing 
the seed, often in ignominy and tears, that in the course of the 
next generation l)ore ns its rijitncd fruit, the Emancipation Pro- 
clamation of Abraham Lincoln ! 

^Vnd, as a lover of our kind, we can hardly suppress the wish 
that the same forces may combine with equal firmness and fideli- 
ty to banish yet other wrongs from our lan<l. And whenever 
they are ready to march upon the redoubts of intemperance, we 
heartily wish. them a victory, whether the Congregational church, 
or some other organization leads. 

It cannot be disi)uted that this church, despite the poverty and 
struggles that marked its early life, has long held a leading posi- 
tion among the churches of our town ; and this is due, not so much 
to the number of its members, as to their character; their influ- 
ence is i>lainly discernible in our social life; and to the musical 
taste and culture of some of the older members of its choir, must 
be attributed the proficiency that has been made in the "Divine 



AND ITS nOXEERS. 153 

iirt" among- the young people of late years. 3Iore than three 
hinidred persons have at one time or another lielcl membership in 
this ehureli, its ])resent and average strength for a nun dier of years 
being about one liundred and lifty or sixty. In l<So8, they raised- 
^vith ditticulty tliree liundred and fifty dollars for the support of 
their pastor. During the admini.-tration of Kev. 11. V, Dunn, 
Avhic'h began in January, 1855, the largest amount paid was, six 
hundred dollars, \\'hile the present ineumljentrc^t-eives one thou- 
sand dollars per annum. 

During its thirty years of organized life, this church has had 
but three pastors, and tlie time has been divided not very une- 
qually among them, Rev. S. G. Wright ofliciating the tirst ten 
years, Rev. R. C. Dunn the next twelve, or thereabouts, and the 
Rev. R. L. McCord must be in the ninth year of his service. Of 
the two former gentlemen, further notice will be found in the 
second part of this work, and of the last it may be remarked, he 
is just making his history. Some future historian, must trace his 
foot i)rints among tlie men and measures of this decade. An au- 
thority we reverence, says : 

'■'■ Measure )iot the work- fill the (hnj is out, 
And then l»'in<i on ijonr (jaugesy 

A large sal^bath school is also sustained, in connection with 
this church. 

THE FIllST BAPTIST C'lIl'IlCH AT TOULOX. 

This church was organized May 1.3th, 181s, at the house of Ste- 
phen W. Eastman, not two years after the Congregational had 
sprung into existence in the family of Hugh Rhodes. 

This started with eleven members while the other had but 
nine. 

The record says : "The following named persons resolved them- 
selves into a church conference, calling Elder Elisha Gill to the 
chair and ap[)ointing William M. Miner, clerk." Then followed 
the names. Klder Elisha Gill, Elder .Tames M. Sticknev, Ozias 
Winter, Henry T. Ives, Abigail Gill, Cynthia Stickney, Helen 
Winter, Hannah Parrish, Susan M. Eastman, Mrs. H. T. Ives, 
and Mrs. Sarah A, ChamVjerlain. 

They resolved to adoi)t the covenant and confession of faith as 
found in the minutes of the Illinois River Association, for 1815. 
And, as the " recognition " of an ecclesiastical council seems to be 



154 STARK COUXTY 

necessaiy to constitute a " reg-ular Baptist cliurcli," sucli council 
was convened in tlie town of Toulon, June 2otli, 1818, and the in- 
fant church was duly recognized, and proceeded on its way, waf- 
ted by prayers, and freighted with hopes ! And for a time all 
went well, many were gathered within its fold ; among others Mr. 
John Culbertson, who was while he lived, its generous patron and 
supporter. 

Perhaps no church in our county, surely none in our town, ever 
conducted series of revival meetings that attracted such general 
attention, and were attended Avith such surprising results as 
this. 

We learn from the records, that on October 21st, 1851, Elder 
Barry, from Little Falls, New York, was first introduced to the 
church l)y Elder Gross, its pastor. And Moody and Sankey with 
all the {^cJat derived from their European tour, can hardly monop- 
olize public attention more completely in the large cities they vis- 
it, than did Elder Barry and his preaching, the attention of our 
little town in 1851. 

As the result of this meeting, al)out thirty persons, all of ma- 
ture age and high standing, were immersed and received into the 
communion of the church, at one time, besides many more who 
followed soon after the meeting had formally closed. 

The devout clerk records, that he reckons a richer treat was ne- 
ver enjoyed l)y American christians ! 

And again in 1853, the church held meetings at the old court 
house every day from December 80th, until January, 29th, 1851, 
on which day fourteen more were immersed, and in all twenty- 
one received. Thus this church waxed rich and sti'ong, and 
seemed to be favored by Heaven, ab(jve all her cotemporaries. 
She built the substantial brick edifice just south of the court 
house square, and inscribed it as the "First Baptist Church of 
Toulon, erected A. D. 1854." 

These were the palmy days of her life wherein she rejoiced, but 
storms were gathering, although the cloud at present seemed "no 
bigger than aman's han( 1 . " Thereafter her history was to be a sort of 
travesty on the " decline and fall of the Roman Empire." Abu- 
ses of power on the one hand, and fierce resistance on the other, 
charges and counter cliarges, conflicts of opinion, expulsions for 
heresy, impeachment and excommunication of one leader, only 
to effect a change, not a redress of grievances, until after a bitter 
experience with another so-called revivalist. Elder S. A. Estee, 
February, ISGS, it was finally "resolved, that whereas, the trou- 
bles and difficulties existing in the first Baptist Church at Toulon 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 155 

have reached so great a magnitude, that we can see no way of set- 
tling tlieni so we can live in peace, and advance the cause of 
Christ, therefore, resolved, that all the members of this church 
who subscribe to this resolution, have the privilege of asking for 
letters of dismission, and that the i-ame be granted by the 
church." 

Here now was revolution and secession all in a nutshell ; and a 
fiercer than political contest ^\•as waged by a few determined spir- 
its to prevent the dissolution of the old church ; but the majority 
triumphed and the vote to disband was cast February 29th, 18G8. 
And "all the property of the first Church, was to be surrendered to 
a committee, to be held for the benefit of another Baptist church 
hereafter to be organized." This majority then adjourned " to 
meet in ]Mr. Hiram Willett's store building the next Sunday mor- 
ning at lOJ o'clock." 

The pastors of this body since 184S, down to the division in 18GS, 
were, named in the order of time. Elders J. M. Stickney, A. Gross 
C. Brinkerhoft", 3Iyron^H. Negus, William Leggett, A. J. Wright, 
E. P. Barker, Dodge and S. A. Estee. 

But Mr. Culbertson had made a deed of the church property, 
only so long as it remained in possession of the first Baptist church 
at Toulon, and in the event of that body ceasing to exist, the 
church building would revert to his heirs. Therefore, the most 
strenuous eff'orts were put forth by a few to sustain an organiza- 
tion that, should comply with the conditions necessary to hold 
the property. 

They still continued to meet in the old church, and although 
but a handful, proceeded to engage Eev. Brimhall as a pastor, 
and in August, 1868, elected as trustees, John Cull)ertson, Owen 
Thomas, Jacob Wagner, and Harlan Pierce. But like its great 
prototypes of antiipiity, this church failed to learn wisdom from 
the lessons of bitter experience, and as late as October 8th, 1870, 
their ranks were again thinned by trials and exi>ulsions for here- 
sy, alias differences of opinion. 

Among those from whom the "hand of fellowship was with- 
drawn " on this occasion, was Mrs. Martha Pierce, than whom a 
more intelligent, devout, christian lady could not be found in our 
community. 

But she had come to believe the scriptures as taught l)y the 
"Second Adventists," and altliough she had stood by this Bap- 
tist Church during its darkest hours, and unflinchingly sustained 
it by her means and influence, she was now an outcast from its 
doors, and went, henceforth to meet with the little body of kin- 



!.")(; STAUK COUXTV 

dred faith, who for a time held religious services in Gebhart's 
Hall. 

These i)eoi)l(', although too few in nund)ers and i)oor in eireum- 
stanees to maintain an organization in the presence of so many 
strong opposing influences, are still not to be overlooked in writ- 
ing up the church history of our town, for they are assuredly nm- 
kingan impression upon the currents of religions thought. 

l)Ut to return to the annals of the first ]iai)tist church we find it 
reduced to about half a dozen meniljers, and asking Elder Stick- 
ney to again minister to its sjiiritual wants, as he had dont' at the 
beginning. This for a time he did, but the real leader of this lit- 
tle tiock is the Eldtn-'s wife, Mrs. ("ynthia Stickney. One of the 
original meipbers of this church, which really drew its life from 
her ftither's family and her own, she has shared its fortunes with 
unswerving fidelity ; shrinking from no labor, however toilsome 
or distasteful, sparing no expense, whatever the personal sacrifice, 
she to-day sustains the renmant by her own indomita1)Ie will. 

While we cannot share her convictions, or believe that "the 
hand of the Lord " is discernible in the record we have been tra- 
cing, we can stand in the outer court, in this era of apostasy and 
materialism, and admire a faith and courage so sublime, qualities 
tliat in the by gone ages would have made their jiossessor a saint 
or martyr, or perhaps l)oth. But, a prophet is still without hon- 
or among his own ; and this lady walks humbly amongst us, 
claiming little, and perchance receiving less. 

The old l)uilding underwent thorough repairs last summer 
through this woman's liberality, and is at this date, one of the 
l)leasantest places of worshij) in Toulon, Elder L. I). Gowan of 
Galva occupying its pulpit every alternate Sabbath, and is usual- 
ly met by a good congregation ; a sabl)ath school and prayer meet- 
ing are also regularly sustained, so there is no immediate i)ros- 
pect of the proi)erty reverting to the Culbertson heirs. 

Since its organization this church has had ui)on its records near 
three hundred names, and for a nund)er of years its general 
strength seems to have been over one hundred. 

THE SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH OF TOULOX. 

This church, which was organized by the disaffected mend)ers 
of the first Baptist church, dates its existence from March 4th, 
1868, and is still in its youth ; although not claiming the same in- 
terest that attaches to pic^neer churches, yet the circumstances of 
its formation beingsomewhat peculiar, we give a summary of them 



n 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 157 

as drawn from its records, tog-ether witli the names of those? 
]»n)minent in the movementatthe beginning. These are : Iliram 
WJllett, Abram Bowers, S. W. Eastman, A. F. Stiel<ne.v, L. (Jc^r, 
L. (!lark, (). Dyer, J. Ives, II. Y. (Godfrey, Benjamin I'aetcer, 
INIrs. Packer, Mrs. C. Bowers, Mrs. M. Eastman, Mrs. C. Lyon, 
Misses INI. Henry, Eliza Eastman, Celestia Eastman, Ijcttie Bow- 
ers, and ]\Iartlia Bowers. 

"A council was called in the Congregational church, to take in- 
to consideration the propriety of recognizing as a regular Baptist 
church, certain brethren and sisters, formerly belonging to the 
first Baptist church of Toulon, said brethren and sisters having- 
organized themselves into a regular Baptist church." 

"Council called to order by Elder A. .1. Wright, of Saxon ; on 
motion, Elder K. W. Benton of Kewanee acted as moderator, 
and A. ^J. Wright, also as clerk. The resolution of said Baptist 
church, in calling the council was then read, and the names of the 
churches invited to send delegates, were called, and the following- 
responded through their delegates: Osceola, E. L. Moore, and 

brother ; Neponset, Elder E. Ij. Moore and brothers Lewis and 

Rol)b; Kewanee, K. W. Benton and brother C. B. Miner; Saxon, 
Elder A. .1. Wright and brothers .James Dexter and Frank Wil- 
liamson ; Wyoming, Elder .1. jNI. Stickney and brother O. C. 
Walker." 

This council convened on the morning of the ISth of March, 
]X(iK. In the afternoon of the same day, at the same ])lace, the 
juinutes of the " first church," pertaining to the withdrawal of 
said brethren and sisters, were read by the clerk of the first 
church. 

"On motion, resolved, That the council now go into private ses- 
sion, in order to consider the subject of " recognition." 

" Next, resolved. That the church l)e requested, through their 
delegates, to give a statement of their reasons for withdrawing' 
from the first church." A clear and satisfactory statement was 
made by parties cognizant of the facts from the begimiing, and 
the conseciuence was, a motion was made and carried to recognize 
these brethren and sisters as constituting a regular Baptist 
church. 

This motion was freely discussed. Their confession of faith 
and covenant, scrutinized, and protests considered, after which it 
was decided by the council to make their vote unanimous in fav- 
or of recognition. The next month they began the work of erec- 
ting anew church building, reported the sum of $2,02") on sub- 
scription, and elected as trustees, IJenjamin J'acker, .Julius Ives, 



158 STAIIK COUXTY 

Stephen W. EiHstman, Hugh Y. Godfrey and Luther Geer ; and 
voted to constitute them also their buildingeoniniittee. ]Mr. Pack- 
er afterwards ottered "specifications," drawn up by W. P. C'aver- 
ly, arcliitect, which they decided to adopt, the Ijuilding to cost 
when completed, $2,372. 

This structure was completed during- the summer of 18G8, and 
although small, is well planned and neatly finished, and has a 
very pleasant location at the crossing of Main and Olive streets. 
Elder W. A. Welsher, their first pastor, was an able nian and 
2)opular preacher, but probably being ambitious of a larger field 
of labor he left, regretted by all, after about two years of serv- 
ice here. He since resided for some years at Candjridge, from 
which place he removed to Belvidere, to take charge of a large 
and flourishing- congi-egation. Since Welsher, their pastors have 
been successively. Elders Gowan, Negus and Hart. Attempts 
have been set on foot of late to reunite these two churches again 
in one ; much can be said in favor of such a proposition, but so 
far, the obstacles seem insurmountable, and no^ real progress has 
been made toward such a conclusion. 

Probal)ly the generation that took part in the conflict of 18GS, 
must pass from the scene of action, ere all the old wounds will 
heal. But we can hardly forbear to note in passing, that this bo- 
dy in two years after its formation, gave proof of its legitimate 
descent, by withdrawing fellowshii from Mr. Hiram Willett, be- 
cause " he could no longer conscieni ously maintain and endorse 
the articles of faith as interpreted by the church." Is there, or is 
there not, a suggestion of that famous Procrustean bedstead of 
Attica, in such creeds ? 

There is no whisper of immorality against this man, no charge 
of duty neglected ; on the contrary, he was, until this change of 
opinion, a pillar of the church. But he comes to believe "that 
the second coming of Christ is near at hand, that the weight of 
evidence in tlie (Scriptures represents the dead in an uncon- 
scious state until the resurrection ; also, that in the judgment day 
the wicked shall be destroyed with an everlasting- destruction, 
but the righteous be received into life eternal." Consequently 
he is a heretic, judged by Baptist standards, or the standards of 
many other orthodox churches. And this may be all right ; we 
but record it, as a scrap of church history for 1870. 13ut were we 
ambitious of such distinction as was won by " mother Ann," or 
Barbara Heck, or by many another leader of the opposite sex, we 
would ask no better material out of which to mould a progressive 
religious organization, than that which has been condemned by 



AXD ITS PIOXEERS. 1.30 

these two liaptist churehe.s, as heretical in the last twenty-five or 
• thirty years. 

CHRISTIAX CHURCH OF TOULOX. 

The Christian church, often opprobriously styled " C'anipbell- 
ite," was organized in Toulon, at the old court house, as their re- 
cords say, " The secohd Lord's day in July, 1840," with Milton P. 
Iving as pastor, and eight members — only four of these being resi- 
dents of Toulon. They were David 3Ic('ance and wife, Edward 
Wilson and wife, Elijah MeClennahan and wife, Henry Sweet 
and James Bates ; the four first mentioned being residents here, 
the others coming, some of them, many miles to attend the 
meeting. 

But this little organization supplied by devotion and zeal what 
it lacked of men and money, and it grew apace. Men of talent, 
mighty in the scriptures, came from afar to aid their struggling 
brethren, and as they presented the truths of scripture in a man- 
ner fundamentally unlike the so called orthodox churches, they 
}?upplied, in those days at least, a new sensation, and were pro- 
portionally successful, making frequent inroads on the neighbor- 
ing congregations, and many flocked to be " baptized for remis- 
sion of sins," as in the olden times. 

In 1855 they supceeded in erecting a substantial brick edifice on 
"Washington street, and have for the most part ever since support- 
ed a resident pastor. Although not so strong now as formerly, the 
trouble must be looked for within, as in the days when outside 
opposition was the strongest they gained their greatest strength. 
Their house of worship and grounds are worth from $4,000 to 
$5,000, and their records show that more than four hundred per- 
sons have at one time or another been gathered within their fold. 
During many years their membership averaged one hundred 
reaching sometimes one hundred and twenty-five. The j^resent 
strength, however, is probably between seventy and eighty. 

Their pastors named in the order of their service are Milton P. 
King, Dr. Lucas, Charles Berry, ITumphery, Aton, James Darsie, 
Beekman, Lloyd and Ames. Of these, if we may hazard an oi>in- 
ion without offence, the most remarkable were Bev. J. C. Berry 
and Bev. James Darsie. These men were both past middle life 
when they came to Toulon, both had l)een educated Baptists, and 
had taken their present stand after mature deliberation, and at no 
little personal sacrifice, as we learn is also true of the present in- 
cumbent. They were both men of profound biblical research, 



IGO STARK COUNTY 

and Mr. Darsie was a fluent speaker. Being- chosen by the vari- 
ous churches of our town to deliver an athh-ess upon the death of* 
Lincoln, he displayed a power of thought and coniniand of lan- 
guage that astonished those who without knowing his ability had 
been wont to sneer at him a =; a "Campbellite preacher." Tliglit 
here, with the reader's permission, we will close our notice of 
the Toulon Churclies with an anecdote of this man. He was of 
Scotch blood, ^^"arm and impetuous by nature, but cool and self- 
controllerl by habit, and made it a point of conscience to avoid 
all politi'-al matters in his sabl)ath day discourses; nevei'theless 
he was at heart an ardent patriot, and believed in preserving the 
union at any cost, but this was not quite the temper of all his 
hearers. At one time the news came of the death of one of our 
" brave boys in blue," on the ramparts at Franklin. This young 
man was a member of T^Ir. Darsie's church, and of course it de- 
volved on him to preach the funeral discourse. A large audience 
gathered, and breathless silence pervaded the house. Those who 
scanned the minister's face closely, noticed evidence of unwonted 
excitement ; there was a flush on his cheek and a light in his eye 
not often thei*e, and when lie opened the solemn services of the 
hour, his teeth seemed set more firmly than common. He com- 
menced his sermon, the text we do not now recall, but that is a 
matter of indifterence, as we think he soon forgot it himself. But 
as he warmed with his subject, and at the recollection of all this 
attempt at secession had cost our land, he poured out such a tor- 
rent of invective against those in the north who apologized for the 
course of the south, or threw any obstacles in the way of a vigor- 
ous prosecution of the war, as probably they had never heard be- 
fore. It caused many in his congregation to tremble, and their 
hair almost to stand on end, so unexpected and violent were his 
denunciations, while those against whom his bolts were suppos- 
ed to be hurled were kept silent listeners by the proprieties of so 
sad an occasion, and the presence of the sorrow stricken family. 

Those were days of fierce excitement, and even in our quiet 
village many felt as if walking daily on a j)0wxler magazine that 
a careless spark might explode at any time ; so it was with anx- 
ious hearts that people left the Christian church that Sunday after- 
noon. 

But after a night's sleep had cooled the fevered brain of the 
preacher, he sought those whom he had reason to know would be 
offended at his course, and said in effect, " I don't like political 
preaching, and never intended to do any of it. These are my sen- 
timents, but that was not the place to promulgate them, but I 



I 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 1(U 

could n't help it — / couhl ii''t Jielp if. All I have to say further is 
don't ask me to preach any more soldier's funerals, or I won't be 
responsible for the consequences." And after all, the young- mau^ 
supposed killed, came home again, surprised enough to learn what 
an excitement his funeral had created. 

JOURNALISM. 

In the winter of LSw-G, John ri, Hewitt — son of David Hewitt, 
who is still among us — conceived the idea of a newspaper in Tou- 
lon. He had been known in the place only as a dentist, but was 
supposed to have had connection with thl> newspaper press some- 
where, and in some capacity. He named the project to a few of 
the "leading" men; and it met their hearty approval, as such 
propositions always do in a small town. 80 a subscription paper 
was started, and about 1300 raised, which was given as a "bonus'* 
to start the proposed paper. 

With this, Mr. Hewitt went down to Pekin, in this state, and 
made an arrangement with John Smith of that place, to remove 
his old office to Toulon. And an " old office" it was. The press 
was one of the first — probably about the third one in Illinois. 
The type were completely ^^•orn out, being just fit for wliat is 
called in the classic phrase of printers, the "hell-box." The job 
type were scanty and worn out ; and altogether the office about 
worthless. But a co-partnership was formed under the name of 
Smith & Hewitt, the office, such as it was, came on and was set uj) 
in what had been the circuit clerk's office of the old court house ; 
and on the first day of January, 185(1, the first number of the 
" Prairie Advocate " made its appearance. The print was sim- 
ply intolerable, and it is not too much to say that the paper was a 
disappointment to publishers and patrons. But it struggled 
along, and the next summer the old reading matter type were 
thrown out and replaced by new. This helped its appearance 
somewhat, and at least made it possible to read it. 

The struggle for life of the Advocate, in the first year of its ex- 
istence need not be recorded, even if the details could now be 
known. Suffice it to say that of course the paper did not pay. 
Mr. Smith who was a man of some means, had already seen serv- 
ice enough in a printing office to cure him of that ambition which 
would pursue the printing business for fun when it was sinking 
his means, and he decided to get out. 

But right at this point wo must introduce a third character, 
who, although he had nothing to do with the paper, began here 
11 



102 STARK COUNTY 

n course which has had much to do with .Stark county and Illinois 
journalisjii. 

Oliver White, then a young man, was teaching school in Tou- 
lon, but was an extensive correspondent of the Advocate, under 
various assumed names, and being an intimate friend of Hewitt 
spent much of his leisure at the ofhce. He began to set type for 
iimusement, as well as to write, and before the summer was end- 
ed had made considerable progress as a com])ositer. It is due 
this individual to state that this natural dropping in among pa- 
pers and type was after all no accident. He had l)esieged his fa- 
ther, daring all the years of boyhood to iind him a situation in a 
printing otlice, to learn the business. This, his fiither had re- 
garded as a boy's whim and gave it little consideration. But 
now, the boy's whim must give color to the man's life ; for after 
learning another trade and attaining his majority, he was to en- 
ter upon his chosen vocation, with everything to learn; when un- 
der favoring circumstances he should have been a master instead 
of an apprentice. Overtures were made to him that summer to 
•drop everything else and enter regularly upon the Inisiness of 
journalism, then and there ; but he had already learned enough 
to know that the Prairie Advocate office was not the proper school, 
and in the latter part of that summer he made an engagement on 
the Henry County Dial, then edited by the late General Howe, 
and printed by E. B. Chambers, one of the finest printers then in 
-the state. 

Mr. Smith sold out his interest in the Advocate to Mr. Hewitt, 
and bought him a larm, and the latter pursued the business with 
a lone hand. But this did not last long. In the following winter 
a better business prospect w^as developed in Princeton, and INIr. 
Hewitt decided to seize upon it if he could dispose of the Advo- 
cate. He opened negotiations with Mr. White who was then edi- 
ting the Dial for another party. General Howe having retired, but 
-did not effect a sale. He sold, however, in the spring of 1857, to 
Rev. R. C. Dunn, and it was then that the paper took the name of 
the Stark County News. But Mr. Dunn found a very unproduc- 
tive and not too congenial field of labor, and after a few months 
he sold out the materials of the otHce to Henderson and Whita- 
ker. These gentlemen bought with a hope merely that they 
might be able to rent or otherwise let it to some one who would 
keep the paper running, but without any thought of entering 
the newspaper field, or even of speculation. The publication was 
then continued by Dr. S. S. Kaysbier, who had already gained 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 163 

some knowledge of the business during Mr. Dunn's administru- 
tion . 

Tlie publication was thus continued Avitli some degree of regu- 
larity, but with no financial success, until the winter of 18(30-(jl, 
when it was abandoned, and for months the office stood idle. 

In the fall of 18G1, jNIr. W. H. Butler of Wyoming, was induced 
to take the olfice and start a paper. He was known to be a man 
of means and ability ; and of so much personal popularity that it 
was supposed the community would rally around him, and give 
him a hearty support. He called his paper the Stark County Un- 
ion, and aimed to keep out of the political caldron, f )f course he 
printed it well and conducted it M'ith dignity ; but sutfice it to say 
it did not pay ; and after a few months' effort to place it on a pay- 
ing basis, he abandoned the attempt and refunded the money to 
all advance subscribers. 

Again the office lay for months idle ; but in the spring of 1863, 
I}r. S. 8. Kaysbier decided to try the expei-iment of a very small 
cheap paper. Accordingly he went in and commenced to issue a 
little sheet, four columns to the page— again under the name of 
the Stark County News. 

It is a notable l^ict that this little paper paid its way, for the 
first time that a paper had ever paid in Toulon. This continued 
until the first of January, 1861, when a co-partnership having 
been formed with Oliver White, the paper was enlarged to six 
columns size. It is a matter of history that in the first number 
of this enlarged paper, the name of Abraham Lincoln was run up 
for a second term ; and Mr. White wrote a brief editorial on the 
subject, which was the first public mention of Mr. Lincoln for a 
second term, in the whole country. The paragraph was taken up 
and hawked about, from Maine to California — being commented on 
sometimes of course with a sneer, and sometimes as a suggestion 
worthy of consideration. But the name stood there at the head 
of the editorial column, until Lincoln was re-elected. 

In the summer of 1861, Mr. Kaysbier retired from the business 
and the publication was continued by Mr. White alone. The pa- 
per was now on a paying basis, and the pulilisher applied all 
available means to building up the office in materials. New type 
was bought from time to time ; and in the course of two years a 
very good country office for those days was tlie result. But in the 
spring of 1866, Mr. White decided to advocate the nomination of 
Hon. E. C. Ingersoll for congress, rather than that of General T. 
J. Henderson who was the choice of many leading republicans, 
and was moreover half owner of the press Mr. White used. We 



164 STARK COUXTY 

do not wish to allude to this controversy further than to merely 
yhow its effect upon our newspaper history. 

Very naturally General Henderson objected to furnish his op- 
ponents with weapons wherewith to assail himself, and thus INIr. 
AVhite was compelled to procure another press by means of which 
to advocate the In<i,'ersoll interests.. This he did very promptly, 
the paper not suspending an issue. Upon reporting this change of 
base to the proprietors of the first press, and reipiesting to know 
where he should store the same, Mr. White was ordered to store 
it in a very warm country, with a very short name, but being- 
somewhat in doubt as to tlie exact locality of that place he com- 
l)romised matters by throwing the type in the " hell box," and all 
the wooden furnitui-e out of a second story window ! So senseless 
are political animosities. 

In the fldl of 18()>!, Mr. White sold a half interest in his office to 
Mr. Joseph Smethurst and in the following spring the other half 
to jMr. Edwin Butler. A few months later Mr. Butler bought out 
Smethurst and assumed entire control of " The Stark County 
News," which has since jogged along without many romantic 
episodes to mark its history. It is still in 1870, under the direction 
of Mr. Butler, and as it has been for the greater part of the time, 
the sole organ of the dominant party in our growing and prosper- 
ous county, it is presumable that it has paid well ; at any rate the 
editor recently made the characteristic remark, that " its career 
had been satisfactory to him whether it had pleased any one else 
orjiot." 

During the exciting campaign of 1800, the democrats of Stark 
c ounty, organized a "Douglas Club," and decided that the best 
way to advocate the claims of their candidates was to start a cam- 
Ijaign paper, which was accordingly done, the first number of 
the Stark County Democrat appearing in July, 1800, with M. 
Shallenberger as editor. 

Perhaps it is not too much tt) say that the editorial department 
of this little sheet was well sustained, and in its columns were 
found many able communications from the leading writers of the 
county who endorsed its political faith. It was printed by ]\Er. 
Bassett, at Kewanee, and closed its brief life with the defeat of 
Douglas in 1860. 

In August, 1807, about the same class of gentlemen determined 
to start and sustain if possible a permanent democratic paper 
within Stark county. Arrangements were made to purchase an 
office, that is press, type, c^-c, from Mr. John Smith, now of 
Princeton, the same John Smith who had supplied the antiqua- 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 1G5 

ted concern with wliich 'Mr. Hewitt liad commenced work in 
IS;')."), lienjaniin Turner, M. Shallenber<>-er, Patrick Xowlan, 
James Xowlan and Branson Lownian became responsible to I\lr. 
.Smith for j^ayment for said press. Setli Rockwell, a young prin- 
ter took cliarge of the pul)lication of this i)aper, which was to l>e 
called after its predecessor " The Stark County 1 democrat," and INI. 
Sliallenberg'er toolv control of the editorial department for a year. 
This paper seems to liave secured a good circulation and met tlie 
wishes of its patrons, but jNIr. Rockwell failed to keep his engage- 
ment witii Mr. Smith, and the securities took the press off his 
hands, and in August, 18G8, sold to Benjamin AV. Seaton, an ex- 
perienced printer; M. Shallenberger continuing to edit conjointly 
with the new publisher for another year, at which time Mr. Sea- 
ton took entire control, and changed tlie name of the paper to that 
of " The Prairie Chief." At this time he enlarged the paper, and 
added much to the resources of the office, his management Ijeing 
considered eminently successful considering time, place and op- 
2)ortunities. But early in the year 1S72, finding a larger and 
more inviting field of effort in Henry county, he sold his Toulon 
office to Henry M. Hall, who continued to publish a democratic 
paper here from April, 1872, till January, 1876, when he conclud- 
ed to remove to the state of Io^\'a, where he now publishes " The 
Red Oak New Era," devoted for the present to " Tilden and re- 
form." So Stark county democrats are again without a local pa- 
per devoted to the dissemination of tlieir principles. 

The new sensation in Stark county journalism that marks this 
centennial year, is the advent of a tiny tri-weekly, called " INIoIly 
Stark," from the office of O. White, at Toulon. It is yet too soon 
in the history of this enterprise to judge of its ultimate success. 
But this we can say, it is commanding a good share of attention, 
and deserves more than it receives. Mr. AVhite's idea of issuing 
a small sheet often, filled, not with "Chicago hash," or "patent 
insides," but with the pith of the latest intelligence, and para- 
graphs of local importance, meets the approbation of many minds. 
And this, with liis well known taste in selection, makes " Molly 
Stark " like a newsy letter, very enjoyable to people generally. A^ 
an advertising medium, it is also important to business men, and 
needs only more liberal patronage to secure it as a permanent ad- 
vantage to many interests. 

However, the editor's political prescience tliat led him to set 
the lamented Lincoln at the head of his columns in 1SG4, seems to 
have forsaken him in 187G, as we noticed " INIolly Stark " led off 



166 STARK COUXTY 

with Blaine as a figure head, but has, ere many months elapsed, 
changed at the bidding of party to Hayes and Wheeler. 

We append a short summary of the business done in Toulon 
during the year 1874. 

BAXKIXG. 

Total deposits, $1,547,240 19 

Exchange sold, 746,831 66 

Notes and bills discounted 588,651 96 

Total, .......... $2,882,723 81 

MERCHANDISE. 

Sales of merchandise, $189,324 40 

" Hardware and agricultural implements, . . 26,300 00 

" Lumber, 25,763 95 

" Furniture, 9,000 00 

" Watches and jewelry, 5,000 00 

" Millinery and dressmaking, .... 7,208 70 

" Drugs and medicines, 19,000 00 

" Building, 51,675 00 

" Mechanics and manufactures, . . . 38,690 96 

" Miscellaneous 16,400 00 

Total, $288,363 01 

There were shipped from the station at Toulon during the year 
1874, 200 cars of corn, 145 cars of hogs, 107 cars of oats, 68 cars of 
cattle, 30 cars of rye, 10 cars of wheat, 5 cars of household goods, 
2 cars of brick, 2 cars of hay, 1 car of flour, 1 car of mules, 1 car 
of horses, and one car of sheep. Of merchandise, butter, eggs, 
hides, &c., there were shipped 251,700 pounds. 

During the same year there were received 151 cars of lumber, 8 
cars of hogs, 9 cars of salt, 1 car of nails, 5 cars of cattle, 2 cars of 
stone, 4 cars of lime, 11 cars of brick, 1 car of sewer pipe and 
1,507,059 pounds of merchandise. The passenger business for the 
same time was $4,492.80. 

The Toulon cheese manufacturing company was organized De- 
cember 22d, 1874, with a capital of $5,000. The manufacture of 
cheese was commenced May 10th, 1875, and closed for the winter, 
October 23rd of the same year. During this first season there 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 1G7 

were 420,010 pounds of milk jmrchased. From this 41,800 pounds 
of cheese was manufactured, and proved to be excellent in (quali- 
ty and flavor, and a ready market was found for all that could be 
made. The milk and labor cost the comj^any $4,850.74. The fac- 
tory is one of the best arranged in this part of the state. Its 
ground dimensions are 40x00 feet, with an engine room additional. 
The second story, whicli is of the same size as the ground floor is 
used entirely for drying. There are at present two vats, each of a 
capacity of 5,000 pounds of milk, and with all the latest improve- 
ments in machinery, the factory is perfectly equipped for its work. 
The season of 1870, at this present writing is just opened, but 
shows an increase Of more than double the flrst season in receijits 
of milk. The total cost of the structure and machinery was $3,500. 

WYOMING. 

Among our towns, Wyoming is entitled to the claim of x)riority 
in order of time ; being founded l)y General Thomas, May, 1830, it 
antedates Toulon by four years, Lafayette by less than one. 

P'or a long time it had little but a name. In a communication 
to "The Lacon Herald" in 1838, it is spoken of a« having upon 
its site " one second hand log smoke house " which served the 
double purpose of store and post oflice. Nevertheless its name 
appears upon several majis of that time, and it was a prominent 
candidate for the county seat. It is said that some speculators in- 
terested in the sale of lots, had circulars struck off and circulated 
in the eastern states, in which this town was represented in 1837, 
at the head of navigation on Spoon river, with fine warehouses 
towering aloft and boats lying at the wharf which negroes were 
loading and unloading, giving the appearence of a busy commer- 
cial mart. This may be but a story, still it serves to illustrate 
the speculating mania of those days ; wliich disease has not yet 
ceased to afflict mankind, but only traveled a few degrees fiirther 
west. 

A gentleman who had been somewhat victimized by such false 
reports, in 1838 revenged himself by periietrating tlie following 
rhymes : 

" OsceokCs but a name, a staked out town at best, 

Which, tike the I/idian warrior''sfame, has sunk to endless rest. 

Wijominy'' s stilt an emptier sound, with scarce a wooden per/, 

Nave that my otd friend Barrett" has, to serve him as a teg .'" 

* A (ine U'ggcil sliix'iimUcr wlm icsi<lfil at Wyc^iiiiiig iit ;i!i i-arly iiny. 



168 STAKK COUXTY 

TJie town of Osceola will never be liyard of again, exce])t as a 
reniiuiseeuce ; but as to Wyoming, the dreams of her founders 
have only been slow of navigation. If the last few years have 
not brought navigable water and laded steamers, they have 
brought the steam engine and its groaning, creaking train of pass- 
enger and freight cars, bringing business and consequent growth 
and prosperity in its wake. The community which so long ex- 
isted as a mere hamlet or village, sprang at the shrill cry of the 
steam whistle into a thriving town, garrisoned with a full and ef- 
ficient corps of enterprising business men, wiio know no sj^ich 
word as failure. 

For the opening of the Dixon, Peoria and ITannibal railway, 
now known as the Buda branch of the Chicago, Burlington and 
Quincy railway, they are mainly indel)ted to the imtiring and 
long unrequited labors of Dr. Alfred Castle. 

The completion of the Peoria and Bock Island railway in ls71, 
doubled their facilities for business, and this together with their 
immense coal treasures opens an alluring prospect for the future. 

Wyoming in 1874, claims a population of thirteen hundred or 
more, and is incorporated under the "general law," having a 
president and board of trustees, &c. There is nothing peculiar in 
the character of this board only as they are supposed to represent 
the public sentiment of the town by constituting themselves an 
anti-license board, so far as the sale of spirituous liquors is con- 
cerned — and this is true whatever sentiment the individuals mem- 
bers thereof may entertain on the vexed questions of the liquor 
traffic. Public sentiment is so strongly opposed to it, that there 
seems no danger of its being legalized for many years to come at 
any rate. 

Every argument has been adduced, every device resorted to, 
every effort made by the votaries of Bacchus, and those quasi 
temperance folks who talk about " regulating the evil," to change 
this legislation, but in vain. Wyoming does not propose to "bene- 
fit her trade " by making drunkards of her sons, or raise a revenue 
by imposing fines upon them, but is so far as her govermnent can 
make her so a strictly temperance town. This state of things has 
obtained for ten or twelve years, or ever since the " woman's 
raid," an episode which though condemned by some, has certain- 
ly resulted in good to the community at large. And while good 
citizens concur in deploring mobs at all times, if the iron of a 
great wrong is allowed to burn into the very flesh of any class or 
I)arty however small or helpless, and legal redress is persistently 



AXD IT.-^ PIOXEEES. IfiO 

denied, we may expect sueli outtre.^ks. Let our rulers le.^ru 
wisdom ; tliere is an end to liunian endurance — even woman's 
.sometimes fails, and then she seeks to avenge her fearful v\'ounds 
by frantic violence and unwomanly dec'ds. 

But Wyoming is determined tliere shall Ije no future necessity 
for such action, and jnu'sues the wise policy of choosing for her 
municipal ofticers lier best men, irrespective of party politics. 
And the business done, the improvements made, the economy ob- 
served, the quiet and good order that usually prevail, as well as 
the evenness of the receipts and expenditures at the close of each 
fiscal year, all testify to the soundness of her i)olicy. 

Before turning to other matters, it may be well to record the 
names of the present town board — not for the idle compliment of 
nanung them in this connection, Init because it is the constant 
aim of the ^^•riter to give names jirominent in any enterprise or 
proceedings alluded to, in order to give a sort of individuality to 
these })ages and add to tlieir interest and value in after years, if 
not at the date of publication. 

President and board of trustees of the town of AVyoming 187-3 : 
President, S. F. Otman ; Trustees, G. W. Scott, J. H. Klocke, C. 
P. McCorkle, D. H. Stone, A. D. Wolfe; Clerk, W. H. Butler ; 
Attorney, .1. E. Decker ; Reporter, E. H. Phelps. Other town 
officials : A. G. Hannnond, Treasurer ; Isaac Thomas, Magis- 
trate ; Harvey Pettit, Constable. 

t'HUKCHES. 

In this regard Wyoming has done well. Of the five denomina- 
tions represented here, four of them have respecta))le church edi- 
fices, the fifth (United Brethren), although weak as regards num- 
bers, has recently purchased a school house and are repairing and 
refitting it, and will doubtless make it a good house of worship. 
The others Mill be briefly noticed in the order of their organiza- 
tion, which of course brings the Methodist to the front, as it en- 
joys the honor of I)eing throughout our land the pioneer church. 
Writes a correspondent : " There is an air of anti(j[uity about it, 
that does not pertain to any other, as it had an existence before 
the town or county was thought of as to name. Beyond, in the 
twilight of our history, when ' the groves were God's temples,' 
the itinerant preachers of this faith ' held forth in this part of 
the moral vinyard.' My recollection goes back to 183o, — forty 
years ago, when their services were held in the log school house 
near Mr. Josiah Mofiitt's farm, there being then no meeting house 



170 STARK COUNTY 

in Wyoming, and extends to some wlio owapied tlieir pulpit* in 
the olden time and who would have graced any pulpit in the 
land, men like Phelps, Berryman and ]\Iorey, and the uneducated 
eccentx'ic, but gifted Pitner, whose oratory, rude though it was, is 
seldom surpassed by the more polished and hackneyed phrase of 
later days." 

During its early struggles here, this denomination owed much 
to the hospitality and liberality of General Thomas and family, 
but has long been on an independent footing, owns its church 
building and parsonage, and pays its $1,000.00 per annum for the 
preaching of the gospel. It claims about eighty members, and 
ninety attendant upon its sabbath school instructions. 

ST. LUKE'S PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

An examination of the archives of the St. Luke's church in 
Wyoming, shows that the first service of the church was held by 
the Rev. Richard Radley of Jubilee, at the residence of Captain 
Henry Butler, commencing in the fall of 18-18, and continuing 
monthly until March, 18")1, when Mr. Radley left the diocese for 
that of west New York, and was succeeded by the Rev. Philan- 
der Chase, who held service in the public school house until the 
present church was erected. In September, 1851, the parish was 
organized, the instrument of organization as follows: 

" We, wliose names are hereunto afiixed, deeply sensible of the 
truth of the christian religion, and earnestly desirous of promo- 
ting its holy influence in our hearts, and those of our liimilies and 
neighbors, do hereby associate ourselves under the name of St. 
Luke's Parish, in communion with the Protestant Episcopal 
church in the United Slates, and di(X'ese of Illinois, the authority 
of whose constitution and canons we do hereby recognize, and to 
whose liturgy and mode of worship we promise conformity." 

"Dated, Wyoming, Septemlier 2nd, ISoy. Signed by IT, A. 
Hoist, Henry Butler, Charles S. Payne, L. S. Millikei;, Thomas 
B. AVhiffen and W. B. McDonald." 

The parish was admitted into union with the diocese, October 
18th, 1855. In May, 1857, the church building was begun, and the 
first service was held in it on February I'sth, 1858. It was conse- 
crated at the visitation of the Right Reverend, the Bishop of the 
diocese (Bishop Chase) in August following. 

* Pulpit is doulitlt'ss used liere for tlic sake of t'liiihimy. as at tlie dati' ivfcrrpd to tliiTO was 
no pretension to a puliiit in the county. Tliese reverend speakers jirolialily stood lieliindcliairs 
wliile addressing- their audiences. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 



171 



The Reverend Philander Chase having removed to Jubilee, the 
parish was left without a rector, and services were sustained by 
lay readers until October 2d, 1869, when Reverend Thomas N. 
Benedict was settled over the parish. The reverend gentleman 
having resigned August 2d, 1873, September following the pres- 
ent rector (Reverend F. H. Potts) assumed the charge. 

The present condition of the parish can be gathered from the 
last report of the rector, which enumerates its strength as follows : 



Number of communicants, 
Children in Sunday school, 
Families, .... 
Whole number of souls, 



24 

44 

38 

135 



The recent rapid imj)rovement and growth of Wyoming in an- 
other direction rendered the old site an inconvenient one for the 
accommodation of the congregation, consequently in February, 
1874, the church was removed from its former location to the pre- 
sent more central and pleasant one on Galena avenue, upon ground 
donated to the parish by one of its members. Dr. Alfred Castle. 
At the same time the church was remodeled and otlierwise very 
much improved, at very near the cost of a new one, and rendered 
churchly in all its arrangements. 

But no truthful history of St. Luke's church can ever be writ- 
ten without an acknowledgment of the liberal gifts and gratuit- 
ous services long rendered by Rev. Philander Chase. 

BAPTIST CHURCH. 



The history of the Baptist church in W^yoming is somewhat in- 
teresting, considering its numerical weakness, and its poverty at 
the start, the obstacles it had to contend with through its career, 
and its present com])arative prosi^erous condition, with its new 
church, and neat and tasteful interior decorations, convenient ap- 
])ointments and accommodations, its increased membership, its 
flourishing sabbath school, and the influence it is exerting in the 
community. 

At the time of its organization, which was in August, 18G7, 
there were only 13 persons who presented themselves as members, 
and ten of these were elderly women, and only three men, 
who represented so small an amount of capital that it was 
thought advisable by one of the elders who took a prominent 
I)art in the services connected with the organization of the socie- 



\ 

172 STARK COUNTY 

ty, that it bo deferred to some future time, until they would be- 
eome stronger in numbers, richer in i>urse, and more able to i^.s- 
sume the burdens and responsibilities incident to the formation 
and support of a Baptist church. The elder referred to, who then 
represented a wealthy and stylish Baptist church in a city not far 
distant, with perliaps the best of motives, was so earnest in his 
opposition that it gave offence to the poor but pious and humble 
members of the society there present, and after a discussion pro 
and con it was determined to proceed with the organization ; and 
the sequel proves that it was not only a wise decision, but that 
small beginnings sometimes result in prosperous endings, that " the 
race is not always to thes\\'ift nor the battle to the strong." The soci- 
ety met, by permission, inthe Methodistchurch, for the Baptists had 
none of their own, and aprominent and tolerant jNtethodist preach- 
er, who graced the assemblage, in the course of the exercises ad- 
ded great interest to the proceedings l)y offering up a fervent and 
eloquent prayer for the success of the church, organized under 
such unfavorable circumstances. Providentially, an elder of the 
Baptist church, comprehending the situation, gratuitously offered 
his ministerial services for a year, at the expiration of which he 
was engaged for a second year at a meager salary, and thus the so- 
eiety struggled on in its devious course for years until other and 
wealthier members were added to the little flock, who would no 
]nore live without a house to worship in than one to domicile in, 
when it was determined to build a church. INIen of executive 
ability took hold of the enterprise ; the liberal contributions of 
some of the members, or all of them in fact when circumstances 
are considered, show wliat earnest men and women were enga- 
ged m the work ; and, aided by contributions from other quarters 
in July, 1872, the house was finished and on the 10th of the same 
month dedicated for public worship. On the day of its dedica- 
tion every dollar of its indebtedness was either paid or pledged 
for — some $1,400 — I)r. Evarts, of Chicago, ]Mr. Harris of the C, 
B. & Q. R. R., and others from abroad taking i>art in the proceed- 
ings ui)on the occasion — and contributing liberally towards liqui- 
dating the indebtedness of the church, so that it might start upon 
its career of usefulness, unincumbered. 

Since that time the house has been struck twice by lightning 
and saved from burning by the exertions of the citizens. 



AXD ITS PIOXEERS. 17;J 

CONGREGATIONAL, CHURCH. 

It is no (lisparag-ement to the others to assert (at least none is 
meant) tliat tliis is the most popuhir cliurch or<;anization in the 
town, and for various reasons ; prominent among these, is the 
ability, intellectual and otherwise, of its pastor — Mr. Walters — 
who is a genial, conii)anionable gentleman, tolerant towards oth- 
er christian sects, and withal a devoted christian himself, manag- 
ing the church with singularly good judgment, not only relig- 
iously but socially. He is comparatively a new resident, being a 
native of Derbyshire, England, from which place he came with 
his family some five years since, locating directly in AVyoming. 
He immediately commenced business as a jeweller, a calling he 
had long since adopted, although laboring to some extent from 
the pulpit at the same time. Being a man of extensive reading, 
(luick observation, and a most faithful student, he soon made his 
presence felt for good in the community, and l)ecame a favorite 
with church-goers particularly, and not one of them all would 
withhold this passing tribute in connection Avith AVyoming chur- 
ches. February 18th, 1873, a meeting was called at the residence 
of Dr. C'opestake, " to consider the propriety of organizing a Con- 
gregational church in AVyoming." After electing Mr. John 
Hawks, chairman, and J. F. Rockhold, secretary, they resolved to 
carry out their plan of organization, which was completed April 
2d, 1873, at the house of the chairman. 

The original members were fourteen in number, and consisted 
of the following named persons : — .John Rockhold, Prudence 
Rockhold, John C. Copestake, Sarah C. Cojiestake, John Hawks, 
Augusta Hawks, Henry F. Turner, Charlotte Turner, James Buck- 
ley, Susannah Buckley, Ann AVrigley, Mary C. Scott, AVilliam 
AValters, Mary Ann AValters. " 

In the two years passed since the organization, the mem- 
bership has grown from fourteen to forty-eight or fifty, and they 
have built certainly the finest church edifice in the county, both 
as to interior arrangement and external appearance and adorn- 
ment. It is usually called " gothic " as to style of architecture but 
as to whether it is strictly so or not, critics differ, though all con- 
cede it is a durable and graceful structure, and reflects credit on 
the designer, Mr. John Hawks. It is handsomely frescoed by 
Frank Dirkson of Peoria, and the windows of stained glass, are 
of the latest style and admired by all. This marks a new era in 
church building in our county, and it is devoutly to be hoped 



174 STARK COUXTV 

that similar ones in otliev localities may soon displace the unsight- 
ly structures that ofFend the eve of taste. 

Authoritatively, this church is known as the " Congregational 
Church of Christ" at Wyoming, Stark county, Illinois. 

" The government is vested in the body of Christian ljelie\'^rs 
who compose it, whose majority vote is final. It is amenal^le to 
no other ecclesiastical authority." Trustees: John C. Copestake, 
John AVrigley, H. F. Turner, John Hawks and George Kerns. 

There seems to be but one cause of regret with regard to this 
enterprise, viz : that the edifice was not placed upon higher 
ground, a more commanding situation ; of which it is so well 
worthy, and shovild have been procured at almost any cost. Wy- 
oming seems inclined to mistakes of this nature, the south side 
school house not making the impression it would if placed more 
favorably. But perhaps the critic should remember hills are ra- 
ther scarce in that region. 

SCHOOLS. 

Neither in the matter of schools, is Wyoming willing to be one 
jot behind her neighboring towns. There is no recent improve- 
ment more manifestly due to the liberality of her citizens than 
that of their present school buildings. The advent of the rail- 
road and consequent influx of population, rendered more school 
room necessary, and notwithstanding the heavy burdens already 
imposed upon the people they determined to submit to greater, 
rather than do any longer without good educational facilities. 
While individual enterprise was investing capital upon a large 
scale to advance the material prosperity of the to\^'n, the idea ob- 
tained that it was right, while taking these initiatory steps, to 
foster such institutions as shonld promote the moral and intellec- 
tual welfare also. The result is manifest in the churches and 
schools of which Wyoming is justly proud. The school houses 
are located quite conveniently for the accommodation of the pu- 
pils — one on the "north side," the other on the "south side," rep- 
resenting the two wings or divisions of the town. 

The former occupies high ground and is a fine brick structure, 
imposing in appearance, commanding a view of the country. Its 
architectural merits are highly spoken of, the credit being due no 
doubt in great measure to the genius of Mr. Hawks, who contin- 
ues whenever occasion offers to ornament the town with his fine 
architectural conceptions. The main building is 84x0(3 feet, with 
a wing 35x12. It is arranged for seating 216 pupils, and the plans 



AXD ITS PIONEERS. 175 

for heating and ventilating are said to be excellent. The work is 
Avell done, and the cost inchiding- furniture and fixtures is some- 
thing- over ten thousand dollars. This school o}iened .September, 
1S74, with a very callable teacher, Prof. S. S. "Wood as principal. 
Miss R. Ward, assistant, and a roll of SO scholars, l)ut this num- 
ber increasing to 120 in November, Miss Carrie Butler was em- 
ployed to take charge of the intermediate dej)artment. The ?<outh 
side school house though not so showy as the other, (principally 
because it is not so conspicuously located) is nevertheless pleas- 
antly situated facing the i)ublic square, which has recently been 
ornamented with evergreens, and other native trees. It is also 
built of brick, is a tasteful and convenient structure, furnishing 
accommodations for 282 scholars. The amount of space enclosed 
does not differ many feet from the north side house, but the in- 
ternal arrangement is somewhat dilferent. It has high ceilings, 
good ventilation, cloak rooms, halls, and indeed all modern appli- 
ances for comfort. And the gentlemen ^^•ho superintended its 
erection, are entitled to a meed of j^raise from all interested, that 
they completed this work in so substantial and satisfactory a 
manner, and at so small a cost — as it is estimated, furniture inclu- 
<led, to have cost less than $8,000. This institution opened its 
tirst year with Mr. William Nowlan as principal, and if any rea- 
der of these pages is not familiar with that gentleman's record as 
a teacher, let him but enquire of the boys and girls who have 
been going to school, almost anywhere in Stark county for the 
last six or eight years ; it will not take them long to agree on a 
verdict. Mr. Nowlan was ably assisted by Miss Stone, and Miss 
Hule in the primary department. At present Mr. AV. R. Sandham, 
another teacher Avith an enviable reputation, presides over the 
destinies of the "south side" school, with Mr. W. W. Hammond 
in the grammar. Miss Butler in the intermediate, and Miss Walk- 
er in the primary department. 

No pains or expense are spared to make these institutions wor- 
thy of patronage, and there is no reasonable doubt that pupi 
of average capacity can obtain therein an education sufficient 
for all practical purposes ; and„ we may say free of expense to 
them. 



s 



<.<f*. 



170 STAIllC COUNT V 

NKWSPAl'EllS. 

"The Bradford Clirnnu-lo" luul soniG circulation in and about 
Wyoming- in 1S72. , This was an "east side paper," but AN'yonuns 
was bent upon liavinj^- a journal of her own to support and ad- 
vance her interests. So in this year (1S7:2) 3[r. E, H. Plielps was* 
in(hiced by the business men of tlie phice to locate an office here. 
This he did, and uniting- the interests both of Bradford and Wy- 
onung- by consolidating- tlie "Chronicle" with the "Post" under 
the name of "Post and C'hroincle." This was AVyoming-'s tirst 
newspajjer. 

In a short time it changed its name to the " Wyonung Post," 
under which title it is still i)ublished. The first nundjer of this 
paper was issued August 9th, 1872, with eighty actual subscri- 
bers. 

This was a five column quarto sheet devoted to the advocacy of 
republican principles. For one year and a half it had " patent in- 
sides," but is now printed entirely at home, with a steadily in- 
creasing patronage and a circulation "grown to 850 ;" so says our 
informant. 

But this question of the circulation of newspapers appears to 
be one upon which but few agree and we shall put but few fii'-ures 
upon record touching this point, lest we l>e convicted of error. 
But that the AVyonnng- Post is a success, financially and other- 
wise, is beyond dispute. And that the man who could contrive 
to build up such an interest in so short a time, and from such 
small beginnings, must possess a rather unusual cond)ination of 
tact, talent, and executive ability, must l)e conceded by all not 
blinded by personal piques or political prejudices. 3[r. Phelj^s is 
an indefatigable worker and must be " a power" in any com- 
munity. 

On the other hand such characters are always i)Ositive, and 
sometimes rash, and as they move with celerity are lialjle to "get 
up a breeze" at times, but are usually willing to abide the conse- 
quences of their own acts, and repair the damages as far as possible. 

Within the last year another claimant for popular favor has ap- 
])('ared in AVyonnng — a well printed sheet bearing- the title of 
"The Stark County Bee." This busy journal is issued under the 
immediate auspices of 31. M. Monteith, and bids fair to be one of 
the leading papers of the county. It is understood to be republi- 
can in politics, yet independent. Preferring rather to be the ex- 
l>onent and promoter of local interests than to make politics a 
hobby. 



AND TTS PIONEERS. 177 

WNOiMlN'CJ L()I)(;K, a. F. \ A. M. 

Previous to tlu' year isnc, tliouu'h there were several "Master 
Masons" aimniii' her pojuilatioii, Wyoniiiiii' liad no or<.',anize<l bo- 
dy of " Ancient, Free and Accepted ^Masons." Those of lier eitl- 
z(Mis who had previous to that date passed throu<;ii tlie ordeal of 
the "sublime deyree," conferred tou'ether for the purpose of tak- 
ing- the initiatory steps to form a lod<;t' of Masons, but as no one 
amon<i' them considered himself sulliciently i>osted to assume the 
responsibilities of tlu' " master's place," this desideratum was not 
suj)plied until the return of the Hcv. J. AV. Aj^ard to his former 
home, as a ]»ermanent resident. At this juncture stei)s weri' ta- 
ken to or<iani/e a lodyc of Masons, and JNlessrs. J. W. Agard, 
Henry A. Hoist, Isaac Thomas, W. F. Thomas, T. ^V. Bloomer, 
S. K. Conover, (1. W. Scott, J. J I. Cox, master masons, and Sam- 
uel Wri.u'ley and Henry M. Rogers, entered ai)prentice masons, 
advanced the necessary funds reipured and made ai)plicati()n to 
the ])ro])er authoriti(^s to consunnuate its organization. 

By permission of the then (Jrand Master of the Grand Lodo(M)f 
Masons, of the state of Illinois, to wliom a])i)lication had been 
made by the above named citizens, tlu^ initial meeting of Wyo- 
nnng Lodge was held, February 2Sth, A. 1). ISHIj, or in the t(H'hni- 
cal language of the secretary's record : — 

"The worshipful master, wardens and brethren of Wyoming 
" Tjodge, U. I)., met in regular coninumication at Masonic ITall 
"on Wednesday, February i^sth, 7 o'clock p. m., A. J). LSCd, A, 
" L. 5S()(;, and opened," &v. 

John W. Agard acted as master by a])pointment ; W^. F. 
Thomas, S. W.; ii. W. Scott, J. W.; ]I. A. ]lolst. Secretary pro 
tern; S. K. CVmover, S. ]). ^jro fern; Thomas W. liloomer, J. ]). 
pro foil ; William N. Brown, 'Vy\vr j)ro fern. At this meeting? 
the secretary's record informs us that " Isaac Thomas was api)oin- 
ted Treasurer; Henry A. Hoist, Secretray ; S. K. Conover, S. 1). ; 
Thomas W. Bloomer, J. J).; J. H. Cox, Tyler," to till those otH- 
ces permanently. 

Such are the details of the history and formation of the first 
lodge of Masons convened iit Wyoming. And thus it continued 
with only eight members at the commencement, until its proba- 
tionary time, "under dispensation," expired, when it was grant- 
13 



178 STARK COUNTY 

e;.l a charter, and roceivcd it.s nairic and nuinlxT, in rotation, as 
Wyoming Lodge, number 479, A. F. and A. M. 

The charter of this lodge bears date the third day of October, 
"A. D. 186(3, A. L. 5866," and contains the signatures of H. P. H. 
Brornwell, Grand Master; J. R. (iorin. Deputy (irand Master; 
N. W. Huntley, 8. G. W.; Charles Fisher, J. G. W.; attested by 
II. G. Reynolds, Grand Secretary. 

It was granted, as the document reads, "at the petition of J. 
" W. Agard, Cx. W. Scott, Henry A. Hoist, 8. K. Conover, Thom- 
"as W. Bloomer, .J. H. Cox, Henry M. Rogers, John Wrigley, 
"Simon Cox, Isaac Thomas," who were its charter members. 

At a special communication November 14th, A. D. 1866, the 
first meeting under the charter, the record informs us that " W. 
" P. Master, 1^-. Tlios. .J. Henderson being present, consecrated 
" Wyoming Lodge, numl>er 479, assisted by Br. William Low- 
" man as Marshal, and instituted the following brethren as offi- 
"cers of Wyonnng Lodge numl)er479: J. W. Agard, Master; 
" George W. Scott, S. W.; Henry M. Rogers, .1. W.; John Wrig- 
" ley. Treasurer ; Henry A. Hoist, Secretary ; S. K. Conover, 8. 
"D.; Thomas AV, Bloomer, J. U.; J. H. Cox, Tyler." 

The lodge, organized under a charter, has continued to prosper 
from that time to the present, and from its eight members at the 
start has increased to a membership of about eighty. It held its 
meetings in the first place over the old drug store of H. A. Hoist, 
afterward over the store of Es(i. Thomas, and subsequently, in 
the hall over the "Boston" store; changes made necessary on ac- 
count of its increasing membership, and continued to be held at 
the latter i)lace until those apartments became too small and in- 
convenient, when it removed to its present (piarters, on the cor- 
ner of Seventh and William streets, in a building erected for the 
purpose of a ]Masonic Hall, by Rev. J. \V. Agard. J. W. Agard 
continued master of the lodge from 1866 to 1872, and F. W. Bloom- 
er from that date to the present, 1876. 

The officers of the lodge for the present year, 1876, are T. W. 
Bloomer, W. M.; Selden Miner, S. W.; M. P. Meeker, J. W.; 
John Wrigley, Treasurer ; W. H. Butler, Secretary ; John Ellis, 
S. D.; Jerry Cox, J. D.; Isaac Thomas and Alonzo INIoffltt, Stew- 
ards ; E. C. AVayman, Chaplain; P. H. Smith, Tyler. 



AND ITS nONEERS. 179 

AVe are indebted to Mr. W. II. Butler for the above items as 
regards the A. F. & A. Masons, witliout whose kindness the 
secret societies of AVyoming- must have passed ahiiost unnoticed. 

KOYAL ARCH MASONS. 

Our information is very meager as regards this order. 

It is the only lodge of this degree in the county ; was chartered 
Octo])er 9th, 18GS, as " Wyoming Chapter number 188, R. A. Ma- 
sons." 

The charter members were J. W. Agard, William Lowman of 
Toulon, William Eagleston, George W. Scott, Samuel Wrigley, 
Thomas W. Bloomer, John Ellis, Henry M. Rogers, James M. 
Rogers, and J. Harvey Cox. The present strength (September, 
187G) of this lodge is forty-six active members. 



EASTEI^N STAR. 

On the 2J)th of May, 1862, a flimily of the Eastern Star was or- 
ganized at the house of J. W. Agard, styled "Wyoming I'amily 
Eastern Star," number 134. The first members were J. W. Ag- 
ard, H. A. Hoist, S. K. Conover, George W. Scott, J. M. Rogers, 
John AVrigley, Mrs. ]Margaret Conover, Mrs. Mary C. Scott, Mrs. 
Martha Agard, Mrs. xVnn Wrigley, Mrs. Harriet Rogers and Miss 
Rebecca Butler. The order was well sustained, and continued to 
increase in numbers and influence until February 18th, 1871, 
when by general consent of the members it was superseded by 
"Wyoming Chapter, No. 52, of the Eastern StiYr." The present 
strength of the lodge is eighty-two resident meml)ers. But three 
deaths have occurred in the order since its organization, viz : Mrs. 
Martha Agard, Mr. H. M. Hoist, and Mrs. Harriet Ticknor. To 
the objects common to all lodges of this order the Wyoming 
Chapter has added that of cultivation of a literary taste, and the 
exercises of this character have become a very marked and inter- 
esting feature of its meetings. Great credit is due to very many 
members of this order for the great success it has attained but es- 
pecially to Mr. J. W. Agard, who has been its worthy patron since 
its organization, and to Mrs. Sarah Otman, who for three years 
served as Worthy 3Iatron. To their interest and ijidefatigable 
labors much of the prosperity of Wyoming Chapter is due. 



ISO STARK COUNTY 

ODD FELLOWS. 

Wyoming Lodge number 244, I. O. O. F., wt^s organized on 
October l-lth, 1S")7, in Wyoming, Stark county, state of Illinois, 
with the following charter mendjers : Henry xV. Hoist, AV. B. 
Armstrong, John Hawks, C. W. Brown, V. M. AMiitfen and 
Isaac N. Tidd. 

This order prospered nntil October, 1863, the members being 
called away by the late war, they surrendered up their charter. 
The lodge was again reinstated by the following members : Hen- 
ry A. Hoist, Thomas W. Bloomer, John Hawks, Chas. S. Payne, 
John C. Wright and C. AV. Brown, on February 6th, 1871, with 
the following as officers for the term : H. A. Hoist, N. G.; Thom- 
as W. Bloomer, V. CJ.; John Hawks, II. S. ; C. W. Brown, 
Treasurer. Total membership, at this time, nine. At the close 
of the year of 1871, total membership twenty-three ; at the close 
of the year of 1872, total membership forty-eight ; at the close of 
the year 1878, total membership forty-eight ; at the close of the 
year 1S74, total membership fifty-eight ; at the close of the year 
1875, total membership fifty-nine ; at the close of term, June, 1876, 
total membership sixty-one, with the following officers for the 
current term : 

H. J. Cosgrove, N. G.; Elisha Clark, V. G.; S. B. Fargo, R. S.; 
AVilliam Lyons, P. S.; J. M. Cox, Treasurer; C. F. Hamilton, re- 
presentative to Grand Lodge. They have a very fine hall, one of 
the best in the county, 22x60. The order is in flourishing condi- 
tion, their rent is i)aid in advance for seven years, with money at 
interest, and the utmost harmony prevails. Their regular nights 
of meeting are Tuesday evening of each week. 

WYOMING ENCAMPMENT, NUMBER 174. 

The first,and only Encampment in Stark county at the present 
time, was organized and instituted March 24th, 1876, by P. C. P., 
N. C. Xason. Charter members : J. M. Brown, C. F. Hamil- 
ton, J. M. Cox, T. B. AVall, D. S. Hewitt, H, J. Cosgrove, J. D. 
AVoods, I. P. Carpenter, J. L.Moffitt, Dennis Guyre, and John 
Hawks. 

Officers for present term, commencing July 1st, 1876, are H. J. 
Cosgrove, C. P.; J. D. AVoods, S. AV.; John Hawks, H. P.; T. B. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. ISl 

Wall, Scribe ; J. M. Cox, Treasurer; Peter Lane, J. W. Total 
luiiiiber of members, seventeen. 

After what we know of the churches and schools of Wyominij:, 
one would expect to find tlie people, as a rule social and intelli- 
j^-ent if not religious. And it is said that this is eminently true ; 
that there is a hearty co-operation and commingling of all classes 
of society in social relations and simple pleasures, somewhat at 
variance perhaps with conventional rules, but entirely consonant 
with the spirit of repul)lican institutions. Then they are earn- 
estly cultivating a love of letters and tine literature by sustaining 
a literary society with this especial end in view. 

The fine arts, music and painting, also have their votaries in 
this busy community ; great attention being given to cultivating 
these tastes among the youth, almost every household having its 
piano or organ. Yet the complaint is here, as elsewhere, that 
church music does not reach as high a standard as it should. It 
is much to l)e regretted that this l)eautiful and important branch 
of christian worship does not receive the attention it deserves in 
many parts of our music loving land. As Wyoming, in common 
with other parts of the county is still in the active stage of life, 
intent on making money, l)uilding up business enterprises, &c., 
not having had time to accumulate a surplus of wealth to devote 
to luxuries and recreations, such things are still to a great degree 
undeveloped. Still there are two good public halls, "Central" 
and " Union," both of which enjoy good patronage, besides a 
Masonic and Odd P'ellow's hall, " manifesting an admirable e.sprit 
<le corps:' But after all "the chief end of man " seems to be 
business, in this region, and we pass to notice the 

COAE TRADE. 

Second to the agricultural interests only, as to its commercial 
and economic value, and as a source of wealth to this place and 
the surrounding country, is that of coal mining and the coal trade, 
which though yet in its infancy, as it were, probably contril)utes 
more to the growth and i)rosperity of Wyoming than that of any 
other interest, with the exception mentioned. The supplies of 
coal being inexhaustible, and of a superior quality, the demand 
steadily upon the increase, both for the local supply and for ship- 
j)ing, one can hardly estimate its intrinsic value in connection 
with the future of Wyoming. From the foct that there is a mo- 



182 STARK COUXTY 

tive power, though lying- dormant, commensurate with an unlim- 
ited and inexhaustible supply of fuel, with the requisites of cheap 
living, favorable location, and easy transportation, an inviting- 
field is presented to capitalists to engage in extensive and varied 
manufacture at this point. 

It would be interesting to give an extended and detailed ac- 
count of the coal business as it has been developed from year to 
year from the commencement, giving an exhibit of its annual in- 
crease, but as the miners themselves have kept no particular re- 
cord of it, and can give no very reliable information upon the 
subject, the speculations of a novice would hardly be satisfactory. 
The immediate locality of the coal trade, however, is fast filling- 
up with a mining i^opulation, and as to numbers will soon be a 
town of itself, containing its average of intelligence, morals, in- 
dustry and thrift as a community, while its numerical strength is 
becoming- an object of interest and of competition as to its con- 
nection with our trade, and of speculation as a balance of power 
in the settlement of important questions. 

THE LATHRor COAL .MINING COMPANY 

is the most extensive institution of the kind in this vicinity ; em- 
ploys a heavier force of men tlian any other, or probably all oth- 
ers combiiyd, and of course has invested in the business a very 
large capital. It has under its control, either by purchase or 
lease, eight hundred acres of the choicest coal land in the neigh- 
borhood, the securing of which, exclusively by sagacious, enter- 
jirising- and wealthy business men, may give one an idea of its 
present value and of its future importance in a commercial point 
of view. This company does not interfere with the local trade to 
any considerable amount, but only as an accommodation occa- 
sionally, when there is a deficiency in the latter, but confines its 
business principally to shipping and sui)plying the rail road with 
coal. The 'J shaft" and machinery, in all their appointments 
and arrangements, above and below, are No. 1. For safety and 
the comfort of the minei's, it has its "escape shaft" and the be.st 
of facilities in its steam engines, iron tracks, cars, its system of 
drains, hoisting, and pumping apparatus, screens, chutes, etc., for 
carrying on the business in a complete and economical manner, 
and preparing the coal for commerce. The works below are laid 
out scientitically by a practical surveyor, and order and system 
prevail. Connected with these \\-orks are a large boarding house 



AND ITS PIONEKRS. 183 

and a number of tenement houses, wliich are added to from time 
to time, and already the "sluift" neighborhood, distinct from 
any otlier, is Jbeginning to assume the proportions of a respecta- 
ble village, resulting in a corresponding increase in the value of 
real estate on the " nortli side." 

The capacity of this company at the present time, or rather of 
its works at Wyoming, for they have several others, is three hun- 
dred and fifty tons of coal [X'r day, if the demand should be to 
tiiat extent; its working force; the past winter was fifty men per 
day, upon an average; and the shii)ment for 1S71, including sup- 
plies to rail roads, amounted in round numbers to G0(),000 bushels 
of coal. 

Connected with this enterprise is tlie " company's store" on the 
north side, an individual atftur however, where most of the em- 
I)loyes do their trading, and its proprietor is said to have a 
" mighty good thing " in securing the patronage of this institu- 
tion. 

rUIVATK SHAFTS AXD r.ANKS. 

Tfie local trade in the article of coal is almost entirely confined 
to those shafts and banks owned and oi)erated by private individ- 
uals. There are seven of them now in op(;ration. Together 
they emj)loy a considerable force of men, and in the busy season, 
as the nuner is always a liberal trader and flush with cash, an im- 
petus is given to business not witnessed at any othertime. Portions 
of both Marshall and Pooria counties are tributary to tliese banks 
for their supplies of fuel— a trade which is extending in area and 
increasing amuially, doubtless by reason of the good quality of 
the article obtainal)le here, and the facilities for meeting any de- 
mand. Though it is like "carrying coals to New Castle," ship- 
}nents have also frequently been made to Peoria and Henry coun- 
ties, from these mines, or those generally confined to tlu> local 
trade, facts which may substantiate our estimate of the (luality of 
AVyoming coal, and that the effect the trade will have upon this 
as a business point ultin)ately is not merely speculative. 

As to the business of the ]>rivate shafts and banks an estimate 
has been made by several of the miners of the aggregate amount 
of coal mined and sold by them for the seven months of the coal 
season of 1X74 and 1875, which has been averaged at 7,000 bushels 



181 ST A UK COUNTY 

per weokjOr is, 000 jxt month, ag-jiTOft'ating- 1!)(5,000 bush(>ls for the 
soiisoii of seven niontlis. I^'roni tliese data, added to the (iOO,(i(i() 
buslu'ls shipped and supplied by the Latlirop coal nunin«^' compa- 
ny, one can see at a glance the extent of the coal trade at this 
point, for a given time, and obtain some idea perhaps what it will 
be, av(n'aging its increase as i)ast experience and facts have devel- 
oped it, wlien all tiiese coal shafts and banks, with others added 
to them as the demand increases, will be worked to their full ca- 
pacity, the effect of which in time also may certainly if not satis- 
factorily demonstrate the problem so many are trying to cipher 
out as to which locality will hold tlie ])re[»onderanceof population. 



It has been deemed best to give the general business of the 
towns in a tabular or statisical form, as comprising the most ex- 
l)licit information in the least space. The year 1S74 has been 
chosen, although rather an unfortunate year for many kinds of 
business, but as the returns of the current year are not yet com- 
plete, therefore are uot available, as a basis of calculation, it is 
probable that 1871, well answered the practical end in view, viz: 
to furnish a standard of comparison for i)ast and future years. 



I'llINCH'AL lUSIXESS OF WVOMIMJ FOR THE YEAK 1871. 



Tt is to be regreted that there are some serious omissions in the 
following statement, but as all the reports are acts of courtesy on 
the [)art of the gentlemen making them, the historian has no 
1 tower to comj)el such s(>rvice in behalf of a i)ublic interest. 



KAIL UOADS. — V. V, & (J. 



Amount collected on freight received, . . . $12,378 11 
" " " forwarded, .... 10,482 25 
" ^l^i<'l<t^ts sold .},17l (J.5 

" Telegraph and express receipts, .... 077 ()() 
Total, |2(),9o4 G7 



A XI) ITS PIONEERS. 185 
I'KOUIA \ KOCK ISLAND, 

Amount ('olk'ct(xl on IVciuht received, . . . $3,072 58 

" " " forwarded, .... (!,i)7!» 02 

" Ticket account, (),-U;5 !)1 

" Ignited States express account, .... S];5 92 

" Telegrapliic n'ceipts, 182 40 



Total, .......... $17,7!)1 s;5 



EAXKINCi. 



Business of Scott tt Wri.u'ley and A. B, Miner tt Co. 

Total amount of deposits, $2,209, 4()!) 00 

" Notes and bills discounted, . . . 927,419 00 

" Exchange sold, 1,491,825 00 



Total, $4,628,713 00 



REAL ESTATE. 



Sold by Scott & Wrigley, $72,425 00 

Loans upon by Scott & Wrigley, (55, 700 00 



Total, $138,125 00 

GENERAL BUSINESS. 

Sales of mercliandise, $180,(500 00 

" Hardware and agricultural implements, . . (55,000 00 

" Lumber, lath, shingles, etc., .... 58,4(5800 

" Furniture, 7,(550 00 

" Watches and jewelry, (5,500 00 

" Millinery and dress-making, .... 8,0(55 00 

" Drugs and medicines, 20,890 00 

" liuilding, 5(5,995 00 

" Mechanics and manufacturing, . . . 35,1(50 00 

" Miscellaneous, 22,0(52 00 



Total, $4(51,390 00 



18G STARK COUXTY 

COAL. 

Lathrop coal mining company, bushels, . . . COO 000 

Local coal trade for seven months, bushels, . . . 190 000 

GRAIN. 

Shipped by J. M. Leet & Co., bushels, . . . 250 000 

C. S. Payne and Dexter Wall, not reported. 

MILLING. 

C. S. Payne, three run of stone ; Dexter Wall, three run of 
stone, and a saw mill attached ; Snedeker and Oziah, three run of 
stone. 

The above firms represent a capital in the millino,' l)usiness of 
$r>0,000 as an investment, but an accurate report of the business 
cannot be obtained. 

As a further evidence of the business of Wyoming-, it may be 
stated on good authority that during the past six years her citi- 
zens iiave invested in buildings alone the sum of $202, o^f). The 
items to prove the correctness of this aggregate are before us as 
Ave write. 



LAFAYETTE. 



This town was laid out l)y William Dnnl)ar, in July, 18oG, 
about three months after Wyoming had been planned by (General 
Tliomas. At first it consisted of ten blocks, but subsequently re- 
ceived an addition from Jonathan Ilodgeson. 

Micheal Fraker was the first white settler in this neighborhood. 
Pie removed from some point in Fulton county, prior to the set- 
tlement of this, and took up his abode at a grove on what is now 
the Knox county line, which has ever since borne his name. For 
a time he domiciled with his family in a wigwajii, although how 
large his family was at that time we have not the means of know- 
ing, but sooner or later this venerable old man is said to have re- 
joiced in the paternity of no less than twenty-six children. He 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 187 

and his were devout Methodists, and his memory is still esteem- 
ed precious by the old settlers of that creed. However a man by 
the name of Jesse C. AVare built the first house within the town 
limits, and also a small store on the site occupied by Mr. Lynd. 
But Theodore Hurd and Barnabas 31. Jackson were the princi- 
pal business men of this place. Beginning as early as 1838, they 
sold goods side by side for a long series of years, rivals, yet 
friends ; even selling goods for one another when occasion requir- 
ed, with a friendship undisturbed even by political differences. 
They drove a thriving trade in 1838-9, drawing patronage from 
all the country round, prices were good and business brisk. Then 
reverses come to the state at large, the i)roducts of the soil hardly 
l)aid the farmer for hauling them to market ; the heaviest pork 
would not command more than $1.50 per hundred weight, or the 
best cow more than eight dollars. Under such circumstances the 
credit system crept in, but they seldom lost anything ultin)ately 
by trusting the i)ioneers ; they were almost invariably honest men 
and expected to pay for everj^thing they bought. The " fast " hab- 
its and expensive indulgences of the present time were unknown. 

Ira Reed also set up business in Lafayette in 1838, in a little 
8x10 room on a borrowed capital of $20.00, but being a good shoe- 
maker he stuck to his lasts till they brought him some torty or 
fifty thousand. 

The first school house here was built of hard lumber, sawed at 
Leek's mill, near Centreville, and occupied the site of the present 
improved structure. / 

The first church, or house of worship of any kind, was a small 
frame, built and controlled by Mrs. Eunice Miner, to which allu- 
sion is made in another part of this work. There have been sev- 
eral later and l)etter ones, but as we have failed to elicit any par- 
ticulars concerning them, or the present status of the town, we 
must content ourselves with recording these reminiscences kind- 
ly furnished us by an old settler. Here was the first attempt to 
establish a manufactory in our county, being one of felt hats, made 
by Dunbar and sons, as early as 1838. They are said to have made a 
good article, and sold them readily, until the stringency of mon- 
ey matters in following years, crushed their enterprise. 

A joint stock company, also, some years later, started a carding 



ISS STAllK COUXTV 

mill and woolen factory, l)nt tliis proved abortive and was aV)and- 
uiied after bringing heavy los.se.s on those most interested. 

Lafayette has indulged in ambitious dreams if not schemes, 
looking' to the possession of the county seat. At one time an ef- 
fort was actually made to secure its removal to this village on the 
extreme western boundary of our county. This was through the 
instrumentality of jNIr. li. M. Jackson, when that gentleman was 
in the legislature. The law ujion this county seat question was 
different then, and had not the secret been betrayed, an act might 
have made the proposed change, before any effort had been put 
forth to defeat it. 

For many years Lafayette grew l>ut slowly if at all, 1»ut awak- 
ened to new life at the coming of the rail road, she now evident- 
ly does a good shipping trade in farming produce, hogs, stock, 
d'C, and her streets often bespeak to the observer a l)risk local 
trade. This much we can read from the car win(lo^v, as the train 
pauses at her depot ; and this is all the information of which we 
have the advantage. 



BIlADFOllD. 



Bradford is the " youngest born " of our Stark county towns. 
It is true there is Duncan, Loml)ardville and Castleton, laid out 
still more recently, but they have hardly yet arisen to the digni- 
ty of towns, l)ut are stations along the line of the Chicago, Bur- 
lington and Quincy railway, and all do considerable shipping 
trade. 

Bradford was laid out by lienj. V. Sewell, July IKth, ISGS. It 
was incorporated under special charter 18(>!) ; reorganized as a vil- 
lage, under the general law in 1873. Territory, one mile square, 
and its i)oi»ulation at i)resent date, is something over five hundred 
persons. It is also on the line of the Dixon, Peoria and Hanni- 
bal rail road, as it was first called, now usually styled the Buda 
branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway. It is fine- 
ly located on very high ground, overlooking fertile farms for 
miles in all directions, and drawing rich subsidies from the same, 
while far to the eastward Boyd's grove skirts the horizon. Ap- 
proaching the town from the west, the view is quite imposing, 



AND ITS nOXEERS. 180 

crossing the railroad cut over a fine bridge, tlie train dashing 
throug'li beneath, the traveler sees crowning the high hill before 
him a busy village, with anii)le streets, commodious and well fill- 
ed business houses on either side, and all the bustle and stir of ac- 
tive business life. It is a well established fact that neighborhoods 
as well as individuals, take on during the period of their growth, 
certain well defined characteristics ; that of Bradford may be said 
to be an all pervading hearty liberality, pertaining alike to mat- 
ters of opinion, and every day afRiirs of business and courtesy. 
Jt is true there is nothing so good in this world that it cannot be 
abused, and perhaps even this sentiment sometimes manifests it- 
self in a sort of rollicking dissipation, not commendable, but it is 
certainly capable of many noble developments, and it has come 
to be pretty generally understood that nothing "little" or'niean 
can long withstand the social atmosphere of Bradford. Their 
public generosity reveals itself in churches and schools, benevo- 
lent societies, etc., all of which flourish finely, considering the size 
of the town. The four denominations established here, are: 
JNIethodist, Baptist, Universalist and Catholic. 



The Methodist church is now in course of construction, and is 
estimated to cost |8,o00, when completed, and will be capable of 
seating two hundred persons. The Baptist church is the most 
tasteful structure in the town and was built in 1870, at an expense 
of five thousand dollars ; it also seats comfortably aVjout two hun- 
dred persons. This body was organized in 18G9, with only eight 
members, and it is a noble commentary not only on the exertions 
and sacrifices of the few, ])ut upon the pul)lic spirit of the citizens 
generally, that the following year this graceful little church was 
erected and dedicated to the worship of God. The membership 
has advanced to thirty, and they have afiourishing union sabbath 
school of over one hundred names, employing as their superinten- 
dent Mr. William F. Patt, and as a pastor, Kev. S. D. Fulton. 



The Universalists also own a chapel that will accommodate one 
hundred and fifty persons. This denomination has always been a 
leading one in Bradford, many of its first citizens (first as to set- 
tlement and social standing both) having inclined to the views of 
this denomination. They have a resident pastor. Rev. Alvin Ab- 
bott, and also have at times enjoyed the i)astorial services of other 
able men, as Mr. Barnes and Mr. T. H. Tabor. They also main- 



>il 



190 STARK COUNTY 

tain a sabliath .schcxtl of al)Out fifty-five attendance, under the su- 
jjervision of Mr. Alonzo B. Abbott. 



Tlie C'atliolics are luiildino- here the first church of tlieir own in 
8tark county ; it will be (juite large, estimated to seat four hundred 
persons, and will cost six thousand dollars. 



SCHOOLS. 



The people of Bradford cannot lioast of g-rand and expensive 
school edifices. Their school house is a substantial, two story 
wooden building, pleasantly situated upon a large and beautiful 
lot (If acres), and convenient to all the pupils in the district. It 
is contenii)lated to Iniild a " wing " to it next year, as it is already 
too small to accommodate the number of pupils in the district. 
While they do not boast of the quality of their school building, 
they do think that they may justly feel proud of their schools. 
Mr. J. W. Smith, the principal, is fairly entitled to be called one 
of the most successful educators in the county, and says a resi- 
dent: "In Miss M. L.Smith, we think we know that we have 
the best primary teacher in the county." "Our directors believe 
it is impossible to make thorough scholars out of pupils who have 
not received projier training and instruction in the primary, that 
there the foundation is laid upon whicli they may build their fu- 
ture intellectual edifice, and that it is highly imi)ortant that the 
foundation contains no imperfections." They will employ none 
but tbe Very best teachers, as well in the primary as in the high- 
er departments. They pay their primary teacher sixty dollars 
per month, and will not employ a teacher who is not worth the 
money. Pretty sensible conclusion ! 



The present directors are : W. F. Patt, M. Bevier and B. F. 
Thompson. 



Average attendance of pu2)ils, September, 187"), was one hun- 
dred. Total number attending, one hundred and twenty-eight. 



AXD IT.S PIONEERS. 191 

LODGES. 

On the 3d day of August, 1S()(), .Tames R. Doyle, Bradford F. 
Thompson, Harmon Plienix, Samuel A. Davidson, Charles B. 
Foster, George W. Longmire and William H. Doyle obtained a 
dispensation for a Masonic Lodge. 

On the first day of October, 1SG7, the lodge received its charter 
as Bradford Lodge number 514, A. F. & A. Masons. The officers 
of the lodge for the first year were James B. Doyle, W. M.; Brad- 
ford F. Thompson, S. W,; Harmon Phenix, J. W.; George W. 
Longmire, Treasurer ; Samuel A. Davidson, Secretary ; William 
H. Doyle, S. D.; Charles B. Foster, J. D. 

The masters of the lodge have been James B. Doyle, Bradford 
F. Thomi)son, Harmon Phenix and Alonzo B. Abbott. 

The present membership (October, 1875) is about sixty. Last 
year the lodge moved into its new hall, in the brick ])uilding of 
Messrs. W, F. Patt & Co. The lodge expended $1000 for new fur- 
niture, and it is safe to say that no better lodge room can be found 
in the state of Illinois, in any town of less than one thousand in- 
habitants. The officers for 1876 are H. Phenix, W. M.; W. H. 
Hall, S. W.; A. S. Thompson, J. W.; W. P. Dator, T.; A. B. 
Abbott, Secretary; B. F. Thompson, S. D.; D% P\ Fate, J. D.; 
George Couhing, T. 



ODD FELLOWS. 



Bradford Ijodge, number 571, I. O. O. F., was constituted .June 
4th, 1875. 

Cliarter members : Joshua Prouty, A. M. Mutchimore, W. A. 
Holman, W. H. Hall, A. .1. Sturm, Edmund Ewing, Cyrus Bo- 
cock, H. .1. Cosgrove, J. D. Woods. Present membershii) (Au- 
gust 14, 1875,) 20. 

The enterprise of the place is further represented by fourteen 
stores, embracing all the departments of trade :— Dry goods and 
general merchandise, hardware and agricultural implements, 



192 STARK COUXTY 

drugs and medicines, millinery, clothing, furniture, boolcs notions^ 
jewelry, A:c. 

Manufactures and other business : — Wagons, gang and sulky 
plows, boots and shoes, brooms and barrels, harness and saddlery, 
ai'tificial stone, bank, two hotels^ paint shops, blacksmith shops, 
barber shops, meat and vegetable market, hay press, lumber 
yard, carpenters' shops, grain elevators, puldic hall, restaurants, 
&c. Amounts invested in these several departments not reported. 
However, the assessed valuation on real estate in Bradford for 
1875, is $100,990; personal property, $41,880; making a total of 
$148,870. 



RAIL ROAD BUSINESS. 



Freight shipped from this station for the year ending March 
31st, 1875: — 29(>, 440 pounds of way frieght ; 728 cars of grain, 
114 cars of stock, 1 car of hay, making a total of 843 cars of grain, 
hay and stock ; amount of freight, $25,478.55. Of freights re- 
ceived, express and passenger receipts, no reports. 

Of the newer and smaller villages that are naturally springing 
up as our county grows in wealth and population, but little need 
be said. Their history is yet to be made. Lombardville, Dun- 
can, Castleton and Wady Petra, are railway stations, convenient 
points of shipping for the productive country that surrounds 
them. All.doquitea business in giain, stock and lumber, the 
details of winch we would gladly give could we but command 
them. 

The last mentioned has now a rival, within a mile or so, to be 
called >Stark, and although this is a good name, two villages can 
hardly both flourish, even within the rich precincts of \a\- 
ley. 

West Jersey and Slackwater are older, but lack railroad facili- 
ties up to this date, though we believe a " narrow gauge" road is 
now talked of, that will strike these points. The former is how- 
ever, an important point for the farmers of the townshij^, as it 
supports a good general store, churches and schools, and shops of 
all kinds for the accommodation of the agriculturist. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 11)3 

COXC'I/JSIOX OF I'AUT I. 

Tills fiiiisliPS the general history of our county and its towns, 
so far as wo have l)oen able to learn it, and Wv> can but conclude, as 
we began, by regretting that in soni' direL-tions the record is so 
meager. We feel that a chapter on our judicial and political his- 
tory would make a fitting close for t'^ls part of our work. ]5ut it 
is simply imi)ossible ibr us to make such an addition noM'. It 
would re({uire an outlay of time, and a careful research we are un- 
able to devote to it under existing circumstances. 

Had we known a man who could write a i)oliticaI history of the 
last twenty-five years, unbiased by party feeling, we might have 
been tempted to implore his assistance in behalf of a public inter- 
est. 

But where should wo look for tlie individual? Every one 
intelligent enough to undertake such a task, has been fully com- 
mitted to one side or the other, on all the great points at issue be- 
tween the parties during that eventful epoch. 

So i^erhaps the facts and figures of our ai)pendix are after all the 
safest guides as to the views of our citizens, and for local i)urpos- 
es the best history. 

However, many pleasant and amusing reminiscences of the 
great campaigns in whicli our politicians have participated, and 
the great campaigners who have honored our county with their 
visits, might be gathered, that would reflect unpleasantly upon 
no one. We shall merely recall two that richly deserve to be- 
come historic, if for no other reason, than that they are associated 
with the names of Lincoln and Douglas, and the excitingcanvass of 
lsr)S. Our little county has bean wont to grow demonstrative up- 
on such occasions. When Yates, Oglesby, Richardson, or the In- 
gersolls, or other greater or lesser lights in the political firma- 
ment, visited us as rei)resentatives of great principles, they have 
been greeted with an enthusiasm and heard with an appreciation 
that we are vain enough to believe was not common, even for 
them. 

liut in 18oS this fi'oling, call it what you please, patriotism, or 
hero worship, was roused to the fullest extent, and a perfect ova- 
tion was extended to both of these gentleman at the county seat. 
It was desired by many that a joint discussion should be arranged 
so that our i)eoi)le could see their great champions meet face to 
face and measure arms. But it seemed prior engagements defeat- 
ed that plan, and if our memory serves us correctly, Douglas ar- 
rived one day in advance of Lincoln. The Virginia Hous? was, 
13 



194 STAKK COUNTY 

as it often hiis been, reiiublican lieadquarters, while tlie brick ho- 
tel, tlien kept by B. A. Hall, performed the sanieoflfic*^ for the de- 
mocracy. It was chilly Xovemljer weather, a cold penetrating 
rain fell continually, but nothing seemed to dampen the ardor of 
the people. 

In the early morning deputations on horseback, consisting- of 
ladies as well as gentleme^i, were astir, otliers followed in carria- 
ges, and some equally enthusiastic, trudged on foot to the point 
designated for the meeting, some half mile outside the town lim- 
its. Now the manner in which these two great men conducted 
themselves on these occasions was so characteristic of each, and so 
totally different one from the otlier, that at the risk of appearing 
trivial we shall give the details as we witnessed them, or as they 
were given us by eye and ear witnesses. 

Amidst scenes like these, Douglas was perfectly at home — 
" master of the situation," and enjoyed the applause of the multi- 
tude; or counterfeited enjoyment so well as to answer the pur- 
l)ose of gratifying his admirers. Then, he knew the real value of 
such demonstrations in affecting public sentiment, as well as did 
the first Napoleon, and pro!)ably fcM' men ever lived Avho better 
knew the popular heart than Stephen A. Douglas. 

So when he made his appearance on our streeis at the head of 
an imposing procession, he was riding with head uncovered in an 
open carriage, and ^^'aving smiling resi)onses to the vociferous 
cheering that greeted his progress. He was accompanied by 
Lieutenant Governor Payne of Ohio, and other gentlemen whose 
names we do not now recall. Fortunately, the rain abated for a 
time as the carriage drew up before Hall's Hotel, and the dense 
crowd that packed the street, kept silent as Mr. Shallenberger ut- 
tered a few words of greeting and welcome in behalf of the resi- 
dent democracy of Stark county. To this, Douglas responded 
briefly but gracefully and passed into the parlor to meet the la- 
dies who had asseml)ied there, to all of whom he spoke some 
pleasant word, kissed the little children, and held them on his 
knees and told them stories of his ovvn little boys. AVhen dinner 
was amiounced the same careful politeness marked his demeanor, 
and all tired and exhausted as he must have been, so near the 
close of this hard canvass, nothing that was intended to be com- 
plimentary to him, escaped his notice. Even the fine vegetables 
and floral garniture of the tables, which Dr. Hall had the honor 
of furnishing, received, due attention, which had the effect of ma- 
king that gentleman supremely happy as he quietly ate his din- 
ner beside a veritable United States senator. At two P. M., the 



AND IT.'^ PIONEERS. 195 

<?r()W(l collected on the east side of the court house, a<4'aiust the 
wall of which a high platform had been erected for the speaker, 
and here they stood for hours despite the cold rain, and listened to 
that voice few of them ever heard again. He was hoarse from 
much speaking, but as he warmed witli his subjects his voice re- 
gained something of its wonted power. 

And hereon the. stand his inborn courtesy found another op- 
l^ortunity to reveal itself. 

As the rain came faster and faster, some gentleman stepi)ed up 
to shield the speaker, but he motioned him back, saying, " not 
while so many ladies are standing uncovered to listen." 

These are all little things, but they mark the man and we know 
Ave but record the simple truth when we say the impression he 
made upon his entertainers at Toulon, was eminently a pleasant 
one. 

An address from Lieutenant Governor Payne in the evening 
closed that eventful day. 

The next dawned and it was still raining, l)ut Lincoln was 
coming, so who regarded the rain ? not 8tark county people sure- 
ly, for they poured in from every township by scores and hun- 
dreds, and the delegations rendezvoused on the open prairie, on 
the Ke\A'anee road near where Mr. N. J Hmith and Mr. Robert 
McKeighan now reside. 

It is claimed bj' many that this was the finest procession ever 
witnessed in our county ; when the head of the column reached 
the Virginia House, the rear was just wheeling into line opposite 
Mr. Smith's. They formed in a hollow square on the i)rairie un- 
der the direction of the Chief Marshal, Mr. AVhitaker, and await- 
ed the coming of their hero ; he had given orders to wait until 
he signaled them to cheer, and when the signal came the cheers 
were so sudden and so deafening that the horses fairly crouched 
to the ground in mortal terror and then sprang up in such an af- 
fright that for a time, one's personal safety absorbed attention. 
But order being restored the various delegations paid their re- 
•spects to Mr. Lincoln, and the ladies on horseback, decorated with 
state badges, rode up ; the one re]>resenting Illinois was jjrovided 
with a wreath of leaves and flf)\\'ers, M'ith which it is jn-esumed 
she meant to crown or encircle the man they delighted to honor, 
])ut Mr. Lincoln very quietly said, " wear it yourself dear, they 
become v<»u ])etter than me." 

He declined any formal greeting at the hotel, but with an ex- 
pression of intense weariness on his face sought the solitude of his 
own room till dinner. 



lUG STARK COUXTY 

Of the merits of the two speeches, we say nothiii*;' ; ml' course 
the widest diversity of opinion prevailed. But it has ever been a 
sf)urce of satisfaction tliat these two distinguished statesmen vis- 
ited our county and enjoyed sucli receptions. 

Two years later, when the fierce clash of opinion lirought four 
ticlvcts into the presidential canvass, Stark county rallied for Lin- 
coln or Douglas, with a fervor it hardly could have felt for men 
it had never known. In this contest Mr. Douglas was defeated, 
JNIr. Lincoln elected to cope with the terrible vengeance of the 
slave power. 

And no citizen of Stark who was old enough to take cognizance 
of facts, can everforgetthe day when thetelegraphic wires brought 
us the terrible tidings that " Lincoln was assassinated." But 
why dwell upon those sad days ; they are still fresh in the minds 
of our people, and form ])artof our nation's annals. 

Therefore we leave them, to talk for a while of our friends and 
neighbors, the Pioneers of Stark County. 









t 



AND ITf^ nOXEERS. 1!)7 



PART SECOND. 



PERSONAL SKETCHES. 

I 

GENERAL SAMUEL THOMAS AND FAMILY. 

Among- the pioneer.s of Stark county, certainly Oeneral Thom- 
as deserves honorable mention ; not only for what he has done 
i\s an enterprising public spirited citizen, but for what he has 
been and still is, even at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. 

He was l)orn in the state of Connecticut, February 2d, 1787, re- 
moved to the AVyoming- Valley, Pennsylvania, attheage of twen- 
ty, and married Miss Marcia Pettebone of Kingston, Pennsylvan- 
ia, May 10th, 1807. 

He served his country as captain of ai'tillery, during the war of 
1812, and while thus engaged an incident occurred, which has 
been used by some to cast a stigma ujion his military record — i. e. , 
the shooting of James Bird at Erie. 

The fiicts are that Bird, who entered the service as a member of 
Captain Thomas' Company, was a wild frolicsome fellow, "spree- 
ing" at every opportunity, and when intoxicated, was almost l)e- 
yond control. On one occasion, when thus excited by liquor, he 
committed a grave offence, that demanded punishment ; the col- 
onel of the regiment, (not the captain of his company) gave him 
his choice of two things, viz : either to undergo trial by "court 
martial," or enlist in the marine service. He chose the latter. 
Perry was then equipping for immediate action, the marine depart- 
ment wanted men, and as the discipline was much more severe 
than among the land forces, it was difticult to obtain volunteers. 



198 /- STARK COUXTY 

Bird fought bravely on the lakes, and was promoted to a minor 
office, something like " sergeant of the guard." But in the fall of 
1813, while Perry's fleet still lay at Erie, he took his squad of men 
off duty, got drunk and all deserted. They were followed, arres- 
ted and brought back, and Bird, as the ringleader, was sentenced 
as a deserter and shot. Captain Thomas had returned home soon 
after Perry's victory, and was at home ^\•hen this sad affair oc- 
curred, and under any circumstances could have had no voice in 
the proceedings, as Bird was not under his command at the time. 
Then, who cannot see that strong drink was responsible for the 
death of this brave young soldier, and not the officers whose du- 
ty it was to enforce necessary discipline. 

That the subject of this brief notice was not deemed blamewor- 
thy, either in this or any other regard, by those cognizant of the 
facts of his career, is proven by the Governor of Pennsylvania, 
afterwards (in 1828) confirming him Brigadier General of the 2nd 
Brigade, 8th division, State militia, comprising the counties of 
Northumberland, Union, Columbia, Luzerne, Susquehanna and 
Wayne. This commission he held at the time of his emigration 
to Illinois. He was also twice elected to represent his country- 
men in the legislature of Pennsylvania, and seems to have filled 
this position to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. 

But satisfied that "The Star of Empire" would westward take 
its way, he bade adieu to the beautiful valley that had been the 
scene of his early struggles and triumphs, and resolutely set for- 
ward to found another Wyoming among the then untrodden prai- 
ries of Illinois. 

After a tf)iIsome over-land journey of forty-two days' duration, 
camping out nights and conscientiously resting on Sundays, he 
arrived at the house of Sylvanus ]Moore, his brother-in-law, on 
Spoon river, (where Wyoming now stands) October, 1834. He 
purchased Moore's claim, entered the land at Quincy, June, 183r>, 
and commenced farming and merchandising. In the spring of 
183G, laid out the present town of Wyoming. 

With him came his wife and several children. His eldest son, 
William F., (lately deceased at Wyoming) then a youth of seven- 
teen; his' daughter, Buth Anne, then 1.") years of age, in May, 
188G, was married to Giles C. I^ana, of Peoria, where she died of 
typhoid fever, eight weeks afterwards ; James M. , then a lad of 
twelve, has resided most of his life in Wyoming, j)rominent in 
business circles, as a dealer in and manufacturer of agricultural 
implements, c^-c. He married, December 2r)th, 1847, Miss Ellen 
White, also of Peoria. 



I 



AND ITS PIOXEERS* 19{> 

At the time of the einig'ration hither, four daugliters were al- 
ready married and presiding- over lionies of their own. Of these 
but two lived to sliare for any lengtli of time, tlie vicissitudes of 
western life. ]Martha P., who was married March 1st, 1834, to J. 
AV. Agard, a native of Tioga county, New York, from which 
place they removed, (as he writes) "by Erie canal to Buffalo, 
thence to Detroit by steamer, thence by United States mud 
scows to Chicago, arriving at Wyoming September 2oth, ISoO." 

Here ]Mr. Agard opened a farm ^^'here part of the town no\s' 
stands, and resided there until 184o; he entered the "itinerant 
work" in connection with the 31. E. Church, and for some years 
he held a prominent place in the conferences of that body. But 
being a man of quiet and studious habits, an independent think- 
er, and holding i)olitical opinions withal, somewhat at variance 
with many of his brethren, he ])referred to withdraw from the 
more engrossing duties of his vocation, to the quiet of his former 
liome at Wyoming, where he might devote himself more fully to 
the care of his wife, who had long been an invalid from lung 
disease, and to which she finally succumbed, September 2d, 1870, 
regretted l)y all who knew her, and among wliom the memory of 
her fragile form, and gentk? virtues \^-ill long linger as a living 
reality. 

Mary .Vnne, fourth daughter of General Thomas, a gifted and 
beautiful woinan, was married early in life to Whitney Smith a 
native of Wilk(>sbarre, Pennsylvania, with whom she lived many 
years at Wyoming. But the union proving ap unhai)py one, a 
s<>paration was effected, and slie was afterwards married to E. S. 
Brodhead, another Stark county pioneer, widely known and high- 
ly esteemed by his friends, for his genial manners and ready fund 
of wit and luiiuor. This gentleman died in Toulon, 1873, 
u!k1 the lady under consideration is now married for the third 
time t') 'Sir. Chase, a man distinguished in ixilitical circles, and in 
the newspai)er world of New York. 

Mrs. Thomas, wife of the general, closed her long and eventful 
life, at the old homestead in Wyoming, July 21st, 18()r,. She suf- 
fered a protracted and painful illness, falling a victim to consump- 
tion, a scourge that has proven fatal to many of her descendants. 
She was a lady who fought life's battles with a (^uiet courage no 
hardships could subdue, yet wore her honors meekly. Her home 
was ever the abode of a refined yet generous hospitality which 
must have often been taxed to the utmost during the first settle- 
anent of the country, but no one recalls an instarice where her 
kindness failed. The pioneer preachers of her faith were especial- 



2W STAilK COUNTY 

ly imk'bted to her for the comforts of a liomc, whon en<^ag'0(l in 
the wearing;' and arduous duties of tlieir callint;-. 

i>ut wo return to theeentral tig-ureof tlus,i>roui) (wiioni it will l»e 
renieniliered we left on his newly entered land in is;',.")) that we 
may briefly review Ids course during- the forty years he has lived 
among lis. Politically the (Jeneral has been an unswerving ad- 
iierent of democracy — tlie democracy of Jackson and Douglas. 
Never seel-cing othce, or condescending to the arts of the dcmi- 
gogue, or making his oi)inions otfensive to those who ditfer from 
him, still he has been a tower of strength to his party. Having 
been a voter since 1S()8, he must renuMuber the election of .Teffer- 
son and Burr — donbtles,-. voted for ^Madison and Clinton, for ]Mon- 
roe, Jackson, and Van Buren, besides a host of later if not lesser 
lights. Few intleed live to exercise this great right of freemen, 
the elective franchise, through sncli a term of years, and he stands 
before ns to-day erect and venerable, without the shadow of a 
vice to darken his age, his faculties (with the single exception of 
the sense of hearing), all in full play, a remarkable instance of the 
poet's idea of " a green old age." 

In 184(3, he represented this district in the legislature, the only 
time so far as known to the writer he has ever accepted an office 
in this state, liaviiig devoted his attention to the quiet but lucra- 
tive pxirsuits of agriculture and trade. In faith, a Methodist, he 
was with his wife a member of the first "class" ever organi/eil 
in the county, (which met in the log school house in the Essex set- 
tlement, often referred to on these pages), and the first organized 
in Wyonnng met regularly at his house, where " circuit ])reach- 
ing " was also heard for years. In the fall of 1S;]7, he donated 
one and a half acres of land for a i)arsonage, vvhich was built by 
(Jeorge Sparr the following year. In ISoG, he also gave land, 
whereon to place the jNIethodist Ei)iscopal church, which was 
built and dedicated the same year. The latter service being per- 
formed by llev. J. AV. Flowers, of Rock Island. 

At a very early day General Thomas beijueathed to the i»ublic, 
grounds for the burial of the dead, which constitute the Wyom- 
ing cemetery still in use. Tlius has he continued to testify^ from 
time to time his devotion to pul)lic interests, and the highest good 
of his fellow men. AVyoming is i)ei'uliarly the otlspring of his 
enterprise and forecast. Founded and named by him in honor of 
his eastern home, he has always shared its fortunes with unwav- 
ering fidelity. While for many years the tide of prosperity el)b- 
od, and others lost faith and sought better localities for business, 
he swerved not, but continued to invest his means in farms, nulls, 



AM) ITS I'loXEKKS. '20i 

luanulUetures, Mnythinji' tliat would aid in sirurin<j;- tlic futun- im- 
])()rtaiu'e of tlie town. And it can luit Ik- a sourco of satislaction 
to all riy'ht minded ])('oi)le, that hv has lived to see his liopes real- 
ized to a larg-e de<;ree. 

To see two railroads, hring- eoiniueree and wealtii to its doors, 
de[»ots, warehouses, mills, A-e., all the elements of tinaneial suc- 
cess sprinti'inii' up around him ; a coal traiU- opened, second only 
in value to the a.u'ricultural i)roducts of the region it sui>plies. 
And now he naturally feels, at theage of eighty-eight, his life work 
is nearly done. For one wlio reared a large family to maturi- 
ty, he will leave comi)aratively few descendants. Four grand- 
sons, however, survive to transmit hisnanieto future gen(>rations, 
while among the descendants of his eldest (laughter, jMrs. Den- 
nis, in California, it is r(>i)orted there is a great-great-grandchild; 
known to the writer, howevt'r, are hut two grand-daughters, INIrs. 
INIarcia White of Castleton, and 3lrs, Louisa 3IcKenzie of (Jales- 
hurg. 

3lany loved ones he has followed to the grave, indeed; he and 
his faithful friend and son-in-law, Jiev. .J. W. Agard, remain 
sole renmants of t\\'o kindred groups, still inhahiting the old 
home near Spoon river, endeared by the associations of more than 
forty years— the general calmly awaiting the summons, "come 
u]» higher," for 

" 77te ciirf((hi Imlf ([ftcd rentals fo //!.•< .sitjlit 
The iciiidous ihat look on the kinydoin of liyht, 
That border the river (jf death. '"' 



KEV. 11. V. Dl'XX AND FAMILY. 

Dr. Charles C. Dunn, was a native of England, but emigrated 
to America in early manhood, and settled in Augusta, (leorgia, 
where he was married to ^liss Ilebecca INloore, and where their 
five children — Columlna A., (INIrs. Tillson), Augustus A., Rich- 
ard C., William F., and Caroline F., (Mrs. (). H. Smith) were 
born. 

Mrs. Ilebecca Dunn was of I'uritan descent, though born and 
reared at the south, and when after a few years of married life, 
she found herself a widow, with her Ave small children depend- 
<'nt in a great measure ui)on her efforts for supi)ort, and looking to 
her for guidance and control, she courageously took up her bur- 



202 STARK COUNTY 

den, and from that tinii', lived a life of self-sacrifice and devotion 
to her family. 

In the summer of 1881, she removed the family to Cincinnati, 
to join an only brother, Augustus Moore, Esq., who had preced- 
ed them a year or two, and who ever showed himself a true broth- 
er in all her difficulties . 

Their aim in comino- north was to remove their families from 
the influence of slavery, under which they felt it would be impos- 
sible to rear them properly . 

In Cincinnati they resided on a farm near the city, belonging- 
to Mr. Maore, which was als:) the summer residence of his fami- 
ly. Here the children enjoyed some advantages of education and 
society, and attended the second Presbyterian church, under the 
pastorate of the late Dr. Lyman Beecher, v>ith which church sev- 
eral of them united. But the growing boys needed more room. 
Such an opening the foir prairies seemed to offer, and in the spring 
of 1836, Augustus, then only eighteen, came into township 12, .">, 
then a part of Knox, but now A\'est Jersey township, in .Stark 
county Illinois, and entered a hundred acres of land, three miles 
south of the village, whicli then consisted of two or three log cab- 
ins, and the family used often, laughingly to remark, that they 
resided three miles from nowliere. 

After arranging for the erection of a log cabin, he returned for 
the family, which arrived in September of the same year, moving 
from Cincinnati with all their effects, in two covered wagons. 

The hard-hips and privations of a pioneer life, at that early 
period were formidaljle, even when there was the strong arm of 
manliood to combat them ; what must they have been to this 
family of women and boys? Mrs. I )uunS resolution and cour- 
age in this, entitles her to rank as a pioneer woman of Stark 
county, and shows lier a worthy daughter of our patron 
saint, INIoUie Stark of revolutionary memory, Alas ! there 
are no Washingtons now to recognize and reward such merits. 
Each of the family went to \vork with a will, at whatever they 
had strength or ability to perform. One of th'^ daughters taught 
school, taking her pay of ^l.ot* per week, in such articles as her 
patrons could spare and the family could use — stocking yarn and 
flannel, meat, flour and dried fruit, the latter article brought all 
the way from their former residences in Ohio or New Jersey, and 
brought out only on special occasion — any and everything except 
money ; while the younger daughter turned her attention to the 
outer adornment of the heads of the mothers, bleaching and re- 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 203 

trimming' their paper bonnets and occasionally swimming- her 
horse across the swollen river, in her millinery excursions. 

The brothers commenced improving- their land, but with the in- 
experience of boys, and the lack of any remunerative market, 
they succeeded in doing a vast amount of hard work, Avhich nev- 
er brought them the looked for return. Says one of them : "Our 
ten years of farm life was a failure!" Not so when the crop pro- 
duced ripened out, in after years, into men, hardened by toil, and 
schooled in poverty and self reliance to accomplish such' results, 
in shaping and moulding- society in its formative state, laying 
broad and deep the foundations of intelligence, temperance, liber- 
ty and religion. " Those who are to help the perplexed and toil- 
ing men of their times, must first go down into the conflict them- 
selves." 

Augustus married young, and on the organization of the coun- 
ty in 1880, was elected the tirst sheriff, though lacking- a few days 
of his majority at the time of the election. Subsecjuently lie 
studied medicine, and settled in Cambridge, Henry county, where 
he took an active part in public and social life, and met with 
marked successed in his profession. 

At the commencement of the rebellion he enlisted and was 
elected captain of company D, 112th regiment of Illinois volun- 
teers. He had a portion of his left hand shot off in a skirmish at 
Kelley's Ford, Tennessee ; was afterwards in the Inittle of Frank- 
lin, struck in the forehead by a fragment of a shell, breaking the 
frontal bone, which wound resulted in his death four years after- 
wards, on the 2nd day of jNIarch, 1809, aged fifty-one. 

He had removed to Chicago at the close of the war, but his re- 
mains ^\'ere interred at Camliridge, which had long been his place 
of residence. Thus closed the life of one of our brave and loyal 
soldiers, and a noble generous man. 

Richard Chapman, was about sixteen at the time of their re- 
moval to this county. His early educational advantages had been 
slight and desultory. At first we find him in a little school in 
Augusta, Georgia, taught by his mother, to eke out their scanty 
support. 

He early developed that love for vxork which marked all his fu- 
ture course, and which was the secret of his success. 

After acquiring some of the rudiments of learning, -\ve find him 
imparting them to their house servants; often, for the sake of se- 
crecy, as it was a penal offence, going- under the house, which 
was, southern fashion, set on stilts ; and this he looked back upon 
as one of the i)roudest acts of his life, even when he had taken a 



-ill .ST A UK fOUXTV 

prominent i)art in etUK-ational nuitter.s, )joth in the' county and 
state. In Cincinnati lie attended a few terms in log' school houses, 
1)ut with little promise of his future scholarship ; Init he enjoyed 
the pleasures of boy life, roa]niny the woods, hunting, trai)ping 
and swimming, while his zeal for work developed into a passion 
for gardening, which remained with him througli life. Indeed 
his love for the beautiful, botli in nature and art, was always a 
source of exquisite pleasure, while disorder and lack of harmony 
were sources of torture. 

After the removal to Illinois, his days were full (jf hard work, 
but the evening spelling schools and debating societies which he 
assiduously attended, gave him the elementary drill in language 
and its use, in which he became a critical scholar, and with the 
few books to which he had access, were all his advantages, until 
1810, when he spent a year at the academy at (xalesljurg, working 
for his board and tuition. 

This was followed by a year or two of farm work, during which 

•every leisure moment was devoted to study, and when a new 

frame house was to take the place of the log cabin, rising Ijefore 

light in the long days of summer, to dig the cellar, and after 

light proceeding to tlie harvest field, and doing his day's work. 

In the summer of 1813, he entered college, working his way 
through, M'ith but little assistance from friends, and often walk- 
ing across the bleak prairies to visit his home. 

In 1847, he was one of the three which formed the second class 
graduated by Knox College, and in 1850 received the degree of 
inaster of arts. 

It was on the 10th of May, 18-17, that Mrs. Rebecca Dunn, hav- 
ing removed to Clalesburg that she might make a home for those 
<jf her children who were studying there, passed to her rest, leav- 
ing a memory ever cherished by her family with the most sa- 
cred reverence and affection. 

For several years, after closing his college course, Mr. Dunn 
traveled and taught, and in the routine of the school room ac- 
quired that practical knowledge of educational matters of which 
Stark county subsequently reaped the advantage. Oct. 31, 18o0, 
after an acquaintance of a year in the school room, he was united 
in marriage with ]Miss 8arah A. Marvin, who shared his fortunes 
i^.nd his cares through the remainder of his life. 

Mr. Dunn had decided on the profession of law, and had made 
<^onsiderable progress in his preparation, when his attention was 
called to his duty to engage in the ministry, and laying aside his 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 20.> 

ambitions and aspirations in that direction, he <j;ave himself to 
his INfaster's service in a wliole souled consecration. 

Untempted by dazzlins; openinj^s which were presented, even 
after lie liad commenced liis studies in the Union Tlieological 
Seminary of New Yorlv, wliicli lie entered three weeks after his 
marriage, and relinciuishing* all his anticipations of a hojne for 
three years, he lived over again the self-denials and struggles of 
his college life. 

His ministerial life opened with a pleasant year of labor in 
western New York, but with several urgent openings for labor at 
the east, his heart longed for the west. It had been the center of 
all his hopes an<l i)lans, and thither he resolutely turned his face. 

After lining the i)ulpit of the Congregational church of Peoria 
for three months, there followed a period too painful to be recalled, 
only as it gave a coloring to all his future life, and furnishes a key 
to explain what has been misunderstood by many. A period of 
candidature, in which for months every door of labor, however 
humble was closed against him, his way wholly hedged up, and 
his beloved west rejecting him. This produced serious doubts as 
to his call to the ministry, a morbid sensitiveness as to the accep- 
tability of his labors, and an unwavering determination never to- 
be placed in such straits again ; and while there was no drawing: 
back on his part from the service of the church, it led to a more 
full consecration of all his talents in the service of his Master, iu 
^\■hatever way he might be used ; looking directly to the leadings, 
of Providence for work and wages, and doing with his might,, 
what his hands found to do. 

It was at this juncture, that the Rev. S. G. AVright, of Toulon,, 
who had been his pastor in the earlier times, and ever after a 
warm friend, decided to leave his charge for a year, and take an 
agency from the Illinois Home Missionary Society, and transfer- 
red his field of labor to ]Ntr. Dunn, and in January, 1855, he again 
became a citizen of Stark county. 

While his position as pastor of a church made large drafts upon- 
his time and strength, both in pulpit preparations and pastoral 
visiting, being most of the time the only minister of that denom- 
ination in the county, his field extended over its whole area, and 
he generally had at least one out post, at which he had regular 
appointments. 

The inhabitants, either in settlement or immigration, were I)ut 
very few of Congregational ])references, and the church has al- 
ways taken radical grounds in all matters of reform , yet steady 
l)rogress marked its growth, and at the close of the twelve years 



206 STARK COUNTV 

labors, he felt that heeouUl congratidate them on their prosperity. 
But lie never forgot that he was a man, a eitizen and a neigli- 
bor. In his own words: " I felt that I was not only a member of 
the Congregational cliurch, and its pastor, but a member of the 
community, and interested in all its interests, in schools, in trees, 
in public works, in literary matters, in moral enterprises, in rail 
roads, in all things." " My heart, and time, and purse have been 
drawn out for every object of charity or of public enterprise;" he 
could truly record — " I have spoken to the public in various forms 
and addresses several thousands of times. I have canvassed the 
county for schools, for temperance, and for the country. I have 
gone to all parts, attending funerals and weddings, picnics, con- 
ventions and meetings of every sort." 

Mr. Wright was commissioner of schools when he passed his 
work over to Mr. Dunn, and after acting as deputy for him until 
the close of the term, he was elected his successor, which office he 
held for three terms, six years, doing a vast amount of labor, vis- 
iting schools by day and lecturing in the evenings, examining- 
teachers, giving counsel to teachers and school officers, making- 
out reports, Ac, con amore, the conpensation never exceeding 
$200, per annum, and often less. 

He was also trustee of the town corporation, and president of 
the board two years. His wide acquaintance in the county led to 
his nomination and election to the assembly for the ;5Gth district, 
comprising the counties of Peoria and Stark for the session of 
1865. There he was chairman of the committee on education, and 
on the special committee to visit Champaign, with a view to the 
location of the Industrial University. 

In October, 1866, Governor Oglesby tendered him a commission 
as trustee of the hospital for the in^^ane, tiie duties of which he 
faithfully performed until his death. Tiie same year the republi- 
can party in the county were a unit in striving for his nomination 
to the state senate, and about the same time Senator Yates, in be- 
half of the collector of the port of New Orleans, tendered him the 
position of deputy collector of the same port, with a salaxy of 
$3,000 and perquisites, which he declined. 

After a pastorate of twelve years, "Sir. Dunn, feeling that a 
change would benefit tlie church, he resigned the charge, not with- 
out a severe struggle, so firmly had his heart entwined itself with 
his life's work, f(jr this w.as his only regular pastorate. 

After a few months of secular work, receiving a pressing call 
from the Congregational church of Oneida, Knox county, he 
spent a year of delightful and successful labor witli them, receiv- 



AXD IT,'^ nOXEERS. 207 

ing- all tlu' eiK-ouragenient and affection which a minister could 
ask, and there, in tlie prime of his usefulness and success, " with 
his harness on," as he had ardently desired, he was called to re- 
ceive his crown. 

" Ld all the ends thov aims at 

Be thy Vountrij's, GorPs and Trnt/rs.'" 

A short but severe attack of spinal nienengitis, lasting but a 
few days, terminated in his death, 3Iay 24th, 18(iS, and in the for- 
ty-seventh year of his age. 

His health began to foil towards the close of his college course, 
but during the second year in the seminary, entirely gave way, 
iind from that time he never saw a well day, or passed a night of 
quiet restful sleep. This will seem impossible to those who have 
Avitnessed the amount of work he performed, or listened to the 
pleasantries in which he so often indulged. 

Another drawback was his meager and unreliable income, 
which always kept him straightened and in debt, with heavy 
interest, and yet so averse was he to alluding to his needs, so 
promptly were his obligations met, and so liberally did he respond 
to all calls upon his purse, that most supposed that his means 
Avere ample, and few dreamed of the Spartan self-denial and rigid 
economy he was obliged to practice in his ex])enses. 

His especial gift was in attracting 1»he young, in whom he took 
the warmest interest, laboring in every way for their improve- 
ment. The sabbath school was his especial delight. 

The following spring, his family, wishing that their dear de- 
parted ones might sleep side by side, removed his remains to the 
cemetery in Toulon, and this his third and last coming to Stark 
county was not to work, but to rest, in hoi)e of a glorious resur- 
rection. 



238 STARK COUNTY 



C:)L':)XEL\VILLIAM II. HEXDEK^DX. 

This gentleman was b;irii on tlie l)a;iks of Dick's river, in th'.' 
county of Garrard, and state of Kentucky, on tlie KJtli of Novem- 
ber, 1793. 

AVe can learn but little of his antecedents, of his early educa- 
tion or history. His parents seem to have led the eventful, ad- 
venturous lives, common to the frontier in those perilous times, 
dying at a g-ood old age, however, at the house of their son, in 
]>rownsville, Tennessee. 

When this son was born, Kentucky was an almost unbroken 
wilderness, and the opportunities for acquiring an education, 
must have been very limited. Yet, he found means to make 
himself proficient in mathematics and surveying, following the 
latter as a business during many of the earlier years of his life, 
and it was said he seldom met his superior as a practical surveyor. 

When only nineteen years of age he enlisted in Colonel Rich- 
ard M. Johnson's regiment of "mounted riflemen," and served 
with this regiment during the war of 1S12. 

He participated with his regiment in the battle of the Thames, 
Canada West, under the command of William H. liarrison, Octo- 
ber oth, 1818. 8oon after his return from this campaign, he re- 
moved to Dover, Stewart county, Tennessee, and M'as there mar- 
ried to Miss Lucinda Wimberly on the 11th of January, 181(5. 

During his residence here, he served the county as sheriff; in 
April, 1828, removed to the western district of Tennessee, but 
lately the dwelling place of savages, and settled near the present 
town of Brownsville, Haywood county. Here amidst all the 
hardships that environ the pioneer in a strange and almost unin- 
liabited region, he was doomed to bury his young and lovely 
wife. 

But his was not a nature to yield to discouragements or losses 
of any sort. Like the oak he could bend without breaking. 

His force of character and versatile acquirements were sure to 
constitute him a leader in any new settlement, and we soon find 
him busy here, surveying and platting the town of Brownsville* 
and then building one of the first houses within its newly defined 
limits. He was the first "registrar of deeds" in Haywood county^ 
besides holding several minor offices, and acting as "real estate 
agent " for several e^xtensive landholders in his vicinity. 

Although after his emigration to Illinois, Colonel Henderson 



AND ITS Pr<)XRER^^. !■(•:> 

bccanic ail lU'tlv;* Opponent to political abo'itionisni, ami to the 
ends a.iid aims of tiu» okl " liberty jjarty," as many of tlio early 
settlers here have occasion to rcnicnibor, yet his sons confident- 
ly assert, that in his earlier life, and when living- in a slave state, 
"he was utterly opposed to hutnan slavery." And that, althoufj,ii 
possessed of ample means for a resident in a nevr country, he 
steadily refused to own a slave, and even when one was tendered 
as payment for debt, preferred to suffer a heavy pecuniary loss 
rather tha:i do viokMice to his convictions of rig'ht. They also 
state, "tliat at (»ne time, when th.e pi'opleof Teiuiessee were about 
to elect delegates to a convention to revise the constitution of the 
state, C'olonel Henderson prepared a circular, addressed to the 
people of his district, announcing liimself as a candidate for dele- 
gate with the purpose of scnairing the incorporation of a provi- 
sion " for the gradual emancipation of the slaves of Tennessee." 
A policy then urged by Henry Clay of Kentucky, of whom the 
subject of this uotice was an ardent admirer and supporter; and 
finally, he was induced to leave the south, and seek a home in a 
free state, mainly that he might remove his sons from the demor- 
alizing infiuences of slavery and rear them in a. community where 
lal)or was not held to be degrading." 

liy those who remember the thunderbolts of denunciation this 
gentleman was wont to hiui, when roused ljy opposition or heat- 
ed by controversy, at the heads of the unfortunate "abf)litionists" 
of old, we know the foregoing statements will be receiv(Hl with 
distrust. 

But coming from the source they did, as a faithful chronicler 
we could not refuse them due consideration, and would further- 
more add that his apparently contradictory course u])on this 
point, after he became a citiz(.'U of Illinois, is explained by the 
fact that he had a sort of prescience, that the unwise agitation of 
the slavery question in the free states, would eventuate in civil 
war, and endanger the Union, which he loved better than life it- 
self. The candid reader could not be unwilling to give him the 
benefit of these explanations. 

He lived and died an uncompromising whig; was elected to 
the senate of Tennessee in 183"), served during the winter of 183") 
-o() ; was personally and politically opposed to Andrew Jackson 
and his policy ; yet he was capable of breaking even party tram- 
mels at times and exhibiting great independence in action, as the 
following incident will show. He lived in the congressional dis- 
trict represented by David Crockett, who fell at the battle of 
Fort Alamo, in the war between Texas and Mexico. And al- 
U 



210 STAllK corxTV 

though Crocki-tt was a whig-, aiul FitzgcraUl, his oi)ponent, a 
doniofvat, yrt Colonel Henderson regarding Crockett as an unsuit- 
able man for congress, took the stump in favor of P'itzgerahl, and 
largely aided in defeating Crocl-cett in his first candidacy for et)n- 

gi'ess. 

In tlie spring of ls:}o, on his return iVoni tlie state capital, lie re- 
signed lus seat in the senate, in order to carry out his long clier- 
ished plan of removal to Illinois, This, however, was not the 
lirst attempt he had made in that ilirection. 

Five years before, or in is;ii, having some twenty thousand 
dollars at his dispo^allu• lucl deterndned to invest it in Illinois 
lands, and for that purpose went to Chit'ago to be present at the 
opening sales, at the newly established land ottii'e— Cliicago be- 
ing then but an Indian trading post. But the sales were deferred 
and he was compelleil to postpone liis venture until a later period. 
He did not return, however, until he had selected a place for Ids 
future liome, on Indian creek of Fox river, some fifteen miles 
north of Ottawa, in what is now LaSalle county. As soon as he 
returned to Tennessee, he engaged in active measures for sending 
forward his little colony, mostly comprised of relatives, to the 
new home he had selected. 

Accordingly in the spring of 1S;52, his aged father ami mother, 
two of his brothers, one with a family, and two of his wife's 
brothers with their fannlies, his oldest son John W., and a hired 
man by the name of llobert Xorris, went forward and commenced 
improving the claims. The colonel had intended to move his 
fanuly in the autunm, of 1S:5:J, but after visiting the neighi>or- 
bood to complete his arrangements, whih^ on his way back to 
Tennessee, having reached St. Louis, he received the painful in- 
telligcjice of "the Indian creek massacre," the killing of llobert 
Xorris and the dispersion of his relatives. This must have been 
a heavy l)low to his adventurous spirit, and for a time all his' 
plans were thwarted. 

The various relatives made their way l)ack to Tennessee, save 
one l)rother of the Colonel. .John II. Henderson, who on account 
of his deep Tooted hostility to slavery refused to return, l)ut went 
into central Illinois, and settled on the Sangamon river, where he 
lived for some years, and then went back to Indian creek to pass 
tlie remnant of his days. Soon afti-r the massacre. Colonel Hen- 
derson vu'ged this Ijrother to return and hold possession of the 
claims, but the bloody deaths of his neighboi-s, then so fresh in 
his mind, naturally made him shrink from doing so. 
This was a great disappointment to the colonel, who concluded 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 211 

to put the funds destined for speculation in ami iniinvn'ement of 
^vestern lands, into a larg-e steam saw and jirist mill, which 
proved a most disastrous investment, as after the terms of sale 
were nearly agreeil upon, it was entirely consumed by tire. 

After this, he again visited the scene ot" his former colony in 
LaSalle county, only to find his claims occupied by strangers who 
refused to surrender them, although upon some he had already 
expended considerable sums of money, lint possession was tru- 
ly in those cases " nine i)oints of the law," and the colonel seems 
to have concluded to surrender whatever rights he had in that 
vicinity rather tlian to attempt to regain them, under such cir- 
cumstances. 

One would think that even a man fertile in resources as this 
man was, would by this time have felt himself completely baf- 
fled in his attempts to establish himself in Illinois, but at Henne- 
pin, in Putnam county, where he rested for a day or two, he met 
with an old man by the name of Leek, who was among the first 
settlers on Indian creek of Spoon river. 

There surely could not have been anything alluring in the name 
to Colonel Henderson, but he i)urchased the land owned by Leek 
and innnediately commenced preparations for moving his family 
from Tennessee. They arrived at their farm July 2d, ls;3(). 

At that time, as T. J. Henderson remembers, there were about 
ten familes living on Indian creek, above the old town of Moul- 
ton, near which the AVards resided ; and ]\[oultf)n consisted of one 
building — the Sammis store ! On the south and west side of the 
oreek wc?re Stephen G. Worley, Elijah MeClennahan, senior, Wil- 
liam Mahany, AVilliam Bowen, and Harris AV. INIiner. On the 
north and east side, were Colonel Henderson, Adam Perry, AVil- 
liam Ogle wh6 then lived in Lewis Perry's cabin, ]N[inott Silli- 
man and Ephraim Barrett ; the latter living in a cabin owned by 
John Culbertson just north of the present town of Toulon. 

As will be known by all who have read the preceding pages of 
this book, these settlenuMits and contigiu>us ones were still in "Old 
Putnam, the mother of counties," anil the people had to go to 
Hennepin, more than forty miles distant, over uncertain roads to 
attend court and transact all sorts of county business. 

These pioneers were not slow in r(H'ognizini>- in Colonel Hender- 
son a leading spirit, which might aid in lu-inging about a better 
.state of things, and he was sent as an Imofficial representative to 
A'"andalia in the winter of 18;>()-;57, to procure if possible suitable 
legislation in regard to the establishment of new counties. 

He was a member of the last legislature that nu^t in A'^andalia, 



212 STARK corxTV 

ill l.'^.']s-;39, and also of the lir^t that met in Springfield in IS40-41. 
In l'<42 he was a candidate on the whig ticlcet for Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor, Josepli Duncan being a candidate for Governor on tliesanie 
ticket, lie made a tliorough canvass of the state from Cairo to 
Chicago, and although lie was defeated in tlie contest, (the whigs 
being greatly in the minority at the time) yet wherever lie ad- 
^Iressed the people, he established the re[)utation of an alile polit- 
ical debater. Stephen A. Douglas, who had heard the ablest po- 
litical speakers in the United States, both on the "stump" and in 
the halls of congress, did not hesitate to pay Colonel Ilenderson a 
marked compliment in this regard. 

Ikit the labors he performed dyring these years, in behalf of 
public interests, form a part of the general history of our county, 
and as stich will be found more in detail in a former part of this, 
volume, and however remunerative such labors may be, in one 
sense, especially if crowned with success, to men of a certain 
mould, yet from a monetary point of view tliey were certainly 
far from iirofitable ; at that time, the country ^^■as really too poor 
to suitably reward its servants, and the pilfering, swindling and 
chicanery, by means of which every pretender to politics now- 
a-days fills his own jtockets attheexpenseof his constituents or of 
the public funils, had not yet come in vogue, and at any rate 
could not but have been abhorrent to the soul of such a man as 
Colonel Henderson. He could berate a man soundly, abuse him 
if you please, in a time of excitement, but it could never occur to 
inm to fawn on his supporters, and pick their pockets meanwhile. 
Thus it came to pass, he grew poorer instead of richer as the 
years went l)y, and we infer that he was not a good practical far- 
mer, that the croi>s were turned over to the care of "the boys," 
who probably found something more congenial to their tastes, a 
g(jod share of the time, and these were the days when corn went 
begging for ten cents per bushel, and pork for $2 per hundred 
weight ! Then, the demands of this growing family of the rude 
'• home on the hillside," were neither few nor small. Seven hun- 
gry boys daily surrounded his table, which, indeed seldom lacked 
the presence i)f guests beside. As heretofore stated, one of their 
rooms was offered at the organization of Stark county, for the use 
of the court and the transaction of county business, county com- 
missioners' court, tS:c. 

At such times Colonel and Mrs. IlenderscMi often provided food 
and beds forjudges, lawyers, otiicers, jurors and witnesses, some- 
times amounting to scores of persons entertained at a time, and 
all without thinking of a charge. AVitliout exaggeration these 



AND ITS noXKKRS. 21-3 

were " liard tiinos " lor iminy settlers, but liank'^t I'or tlie over- 
tasked wives and iiiotliers, wlio were trying to make one dollar 
do the work of five, and to practice iniwearying' ]ios})ita!ity, at a 
fearful outlay of vital force. 

In 184'), Colonel Henderson took the state census of Starlc coun- 
ty, and poverty compelled him to aeeoniplish the work on foot; 
the meager compensation he received for this service, he devoted 
to the purchase of a horse to make out a team with which to 
move his family to Iowa, and there in Npvemljer of that year he 
went, settling in Johnson county, near Iowa city, hoping to give 
his sons better educational advantag€>s than they had hitherto en- 
joyed ; but in the si)ring of 18-iG, he was compelled to move fur- 
ther, into the country, and after many hand to hand struggles with 
poverty and hardship, he finally secured and imi)roved a large 
farm in the northern part of Johnson county, twenty miles from 
Iowa city, and eight or nine froivi Cedar Rapids. This fine tract 
of land he afterwai'ds sold for $10,0(10, l»ut unmindful of his form- 
er bitter experience with mill })roperty niadea similar investment 
with similar results. 

In IS.jO, Colonel Henderson was again drawn into tiie i)olitical 
arena, was a whig candidate for congress. "But (writes one who 
liad good opportunity of knowing the facts) "he was defeated, as 
the democracy was then dominant in Iowa, but succeeded in re- 
ducing their majority, and paved the way for a whig victory at 
the next election." In 1S02, he was a candidate for in-esidential 
elector, on the whig ticket, but shared the general rout of tlie 
party that year, when it practically ceased to exist. This was his 
last venture on the suttYages of the people; not even politically 
could he be called a fortunate man, yet he certainly l)etter deserv- 
ed success than thousands who achieve it. 

If in conclusion of this narrative we might venture to weigli 
for a moment the ingredients that went to make up the character 
we have been contemi)lating, we should place on one side the 
strong prejudices, that found vent in stronger expressions, that 
sometimes wounded as they flowed; the fiery vehemence, we 
often associate with southern blood, a general imi)etuosity and 
recklessness of danger, prol)ably engendered, or at least fostered 
by the adventurous life he had led. To offset these, we should 
have a large brain and unselfish heart, manifesting themselves in 
an enlightened zeal for the public good, whether that pu1»lic con- 
sisted for the time being of a large and intelligent community, or 
of a struggling settlement on the frontier. Though not a classi- 
cal scholar, he was possessed of a vast fund of general informa- 



214 STARK COUNTY 

tion, and grasped -with a master's hand the political issues of his 
time. He lived to see the war cloud he had dreaded, lower upon 
his beloved country, to see his own sons, urged by their convic- 
tions of duty and fealty to the old flag, go to carry fire and sword 
to the very spot where they were born, and he deplored all this 
Avith a bitterness characteristic of his passionate nature. One 
can hardly repress a sigh of regret that the brave old man could 
not have lived to see the termination of hostilities, and the bind- 
ing up of the nation's wounds. But it was otherwise ordained by 
that Power before which we must all bow, the strong as well as 
the weak. 

On the 27th of January, 1804, while the reverberations of can- 
on were still jaiTing every hearthstone in our land, it was said of 
him as it will be one of these days, of every man, he died. Calm- 
ly, fearlessly he met his last enemy, realizing the situation, but 
shrinking not. AVith him in that solemn hour were his wife, his 
guiding star through so many dark scenes of the past, and his 
five sons ; the other two, Thomas and Webster, being in the army, 
their names were among the last words his lips ever uttered. 
Let us hope "After life's fitful fever he sleeps well." Now it is 
meet we should as it were, roll back the scroll of years, that we 
may review very briefly the life and character of Mrs. Sarah M. 
Henderson, for more than forty years the wife of the principal fig- 
ure in this group, and mother to five sons to whose lives we shall 
turn the reader's attention on a subsequent page. 

This lady was a native of Sampson county, X(M-th Carolina, 
was born September 15th, 1804, l)eing at this date, 1875, 71 years 
of age ; her maiden name was Howard. When she was yet 
a child her parents removed with their family to middle Tennes- 
see, but after several minor changes they finally settled in Hay- 
wood county, west Tennessee, where she was married November 
Gth, 1823. This county was notorganizedtill the following spring, 
and in March 1824, its first election took j^lace. From the out- 
lines of her life furnished us, we infer that Mrs. Henderson was 
by birth and education a pioneer, always on the frontier. Those 
who understand the full significance of that fact, will not be sur- 
prised to learn that this lady was not " educated " in the usual 
sense of that word. She was taught to read and write, and that 
was about all the mental culture permitted her until some years 
after her n\arriage. But she was possessed of good natural abili- 
ties, strong common sense, combined with many womanly graces 
and great purity of character. And to her, quite as much as 
to their father, do her children iwe whatever of mental or phy- 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 215 

sieal vigor they possess. From her youth she has lived a devoted 
christian ; a member of tlie Methodist church for more than half a 
century, a self-constituted, self-sustaining missionary, wherever 
she went she carried the emblems of her faith, and with her wo- 
man's hands i)lanted its standards wherever her lot was cast. Her 
devotion has been marked by a beautiful consistency, through all 
the vicissitudes of her long life, the best proof of which is the 
reverence she has inspired in the hearts of her children. And 
now, as the shadows lengthen, and the feebleness of age creeps 
on, she fears no evil, she knows for her " at eventide there shall 
be light ;" with much of the quiet iirmness, the cheerful fortitude 
that marked her earlier years, she accepts whatever life brings. 
And really, her age is crowned with blessings and honors, a rich 
reward for all the sacrifices and labors of the past. 

Her home has been for many years at Marshalltown, Iowa, with 
her son Henry ('., where she will probably remain until summon- 
ed to join "the loved ones gone before." 

Colonel Henderson had three childrcju Ijy his first wife, Mary 
Anne, John and William P. Mary Anne, ^\■ho died in 1834, 
was married and left one child who still survives, and lives 
in or near Brownsville, Tennessee, so long the home of tlie Hen- 
dersons. 

.John W., was for many years a prominent citizen of Stark coun- 
ty, and held important positions while here, mention of which 
has been made in the body of this work. 

His first wife was ]Miss IMary Perry, a mend)er of a pioneer 
family frequently alluded to in these pages. She died young and 
her remains rest in tlie Toulon cemetery. This bereavement left 
]Mr. Henderson, as his father had been left, with three motherless 
children. He was afterwards married to Elizabeth, daughter of 
Cai)tain liutler, of Wyoming, Stark county, and removed to Ce- 
dar Ra[)ids, Iowa, where he still resides, and has proven himself, 
as here, a good citizen and successful business man. 

^^'illiam I*, is a farmer, and resides at present in Green county, 
Iowa. By his second marriage, Colonel Henderson had one daugh- 
ter and five sons — the daughter dying in infancy. The sons, 
mentioned in the order of their ages, are Thomas .J., Hcmy C, 
Stephen H., Daniel W., and James A. 

Of these, Thomas J. remained for a long time a resident of our 
county after his father's emigration to Towa, holding many im- 
portant trusts both as citizen and soldier ; on this account wesliall 
accord him a fuller notice on subsequent pages. 

Henry C. is a lawyer, residing at Marshalltown, Iowa. He was 



21(> STAllIv COUNTY 

u clerk in the treasury deijarlment at Vv"asliing't(tii, IVoiii !s}I) ia 
1802. In 18')0, Jie married Mi-s lanthe FLi!!(>r, of Elniira, Stark 
eounty, by wiioni he has a large family. In 1S.>], he went te 
lloek Island, Illinois, and practiced law for three years, then rc- 
inoved to his present location, lie was elected to the state senate 
of Iowa, in I8G0, and in 1861, was a presidential elector on the re- 
publican ticket, voting for Lincoln and Johnson. This gentk- 
man seems to have inherited much of his father as a political 
speaker and leader, but of late has devoted himself exclusively to 
the i)ractice of his profession. 

Stephen II. read law in Rock Island, Illinois, and entered up- 
on the practice; but soon abandoned the bar for the i)uljiit, be- 
coming a Metliodist itinerant. In 18(52, however, he left the pul- 
l)it for the army, was chosen captain of company .\, L'lth regi- 
ment Iowa infantry, and was afterwards colonel of 44th regiment, 
Iowa infantry. He was with (irant at the siege of Vickl>surg, 
participated in the battles of Port Gibson and Champion Hills, 
besides many minor engagements around \"icksburg. At the 
close of the w^ar he returned to his clerical duties, and has been 
for several years, a presiding elder in the INIethodist church, noted 
for the force and finish of his oratory and his devotion to his 
work. 

Daniel W. \\'as a lieutenant in tlie 22d Iowa infantry, 
under the command of Colonel, afterwards Governor Stone. He 
also was with Grant at Vicksburg, and j^articipated in the battle 
of Port Gibson, where he was seriously wounded ; served in ]Nris- 
sissipi)i, Louisiana and Texas mostly ; is now a respected citizen 
and successful farmer of Green county, Iowa. 

.lames A. vras a<ln!iited to the })ractice of law from his l)roth- 
cr's otlice in Toulon, Illinois ; was at one time n^aster in chancerv 
of Stark county, and hc>re enlisted in com})any K, 47th regiment 
of Illinois volunteers. He was promoted to a lieutenantcy, but 
on account of })()or liealth could not serve. This gentleman has 
been twice married to ladies well known here ; first to Miss Bur- 
dell Turner, of Hennei)in, grand-daughter of Captain Butler, sec- 
ond to ]Miss i^^rank Dewey of Toulon. Since the war he has re- 
sided in Iowa, at ^larshalltown, and at Jefferson, Green county, 
and devoted himself to the practice of his profession. 

Although most of tliis group have given the strength of their 
juanhood to Iowa, yet as boys they belonged to us. Here their 
characters were formed, and it is their voluntary statement that 
whate\er is valuable therein, they attribute in a large degree to 
the influences that surrounded tliem in those early yeai's passed 



AXi) IT.-; pi(>xi:er>!. 217 

in Stark ; tliat t'u'ir ineiiiorif-s still fondly turn to tiiat cal)in- 
lionieon tiio hill just south of Toulori, and rcrall with jileasure 
the si'cncs and frieiids of those days. In return we may say "the 
Henderson boys," will never be forgotten while an old settler re- 
mains on Indian ereek of Spoon river. 



KEV. SAMUEI. G. V.'UK.IIT. 

llev. S. (i. A\'ri>^ht was enii)hat;eally a jdoneer ]>reaeher, and 
seems to have bt^en eminently fitted Ijoth by nature and education 
for the arvluons work he had undertaken; and as many of the 
)»est years of his life were given to Stark county in the various 
roles of preaclier, ]vastor, lecturer, school commissioner, and cit- 
izen, in all of which he was conspicuous, a few jiages of this vol- 
ume are justly his due. 

He sprung from a family remarkable for their unswerving faith 
in Christianity, therefore was by nature religious ; was one of five 
brothers, all of whom had at one time devoted themselves to 
preparation for the ministry. Two finally concluded duty point- 
ed them to other fields of laljor. 

Mr. John Wright took charge of the home farm and his aged 
parents, in Fulton county, \chile a younger brother liecame our 
neighbor, ('aptain William Wright, and fell mortally wounded 
while leading his men upon tlie l;attle field of Resaca. Of the 
three others, B. N. died many years since while pastor of the 
Congregational church at Belvidei-e. Ashur more recently {)assed 
away, having spent most of his life as a missionary to the Indians 
on the reservations in New York. Thus the subject of this sketch 
remains the sole survivor, and is still with unabated zeal pursuing 
Ids calling in the frontier state of Kansas. 

Four sisters still remain — INIrs. (xeorge W. Dewey, and Mrs. 
Dianthia Shinn, of Toulon ; ]Mrs. Dr. Curtis of Canton, Illinois, 
and Mrs. Otis Curtis, of Wisconsin. 

As their father, ]Mr. lloyal Wright, emigrated to Canton, Ful- 
ton county, as early as lSo2. they have all lu-cni fully initiated 
into the mysteries of jnoneer life. 

Samuel (i. was born at Hanover, New Hampshire, December, 
180;) ; married in 1^32, to Miss Eliza :M. Page, a relative of Har- 
lan Page, so well known throughout the New England churches. 



218 STARK COrXTY 

Soon after this niarrias'o the young- couplo emigrated to Fulton 
eounty, Illinois, where ]Mr. Wriglit projiosed to coninience farm- 
ing, but elianging his mind, resolved to go to Lane's theological 
seminary, in order to iire}>are himself for the ministry. Thither 
his young wife aeeomi)anied him, aiding his exertions by her 
cheering presenct', imtil failing health compelled her return to the 
friends in Fulton county, wliere she died of consumption in IS-V.\ 
leaving two children, but one of whom now survives, 31 r. Fdward 
P. Wright, of Osceola. After this sad bereavement, ]N[r. Wright 
again returned to Cincinnati to complete his course of study, 
which lie seems to have done in 1S4(), as in that year he was mar- 
ried to Miss Minerva Hart of Farmington. 

He was commissioned by t!ie Home Missionary Society and 
commenced labor in Stark county in 1.S41. His first home among 
us was in West Jersey townshi}*, in those days familiarly known 
as the Webster settlement or *' Nigger Point." But he seems to 
have had tlie whole county for his parish, besides many outlying 
districts where he occasionally laljored. From his journal it may 
be gathered that for the first few years he had regular appoint- 
ments at the following named places: Walnut creek (at different 
l)oints), Victoria, Henderson, Wetherstield, I/afayette, Wyoming, 
Osceola, Wall's school house, 3loulton, and later at Toulon, and 
contiguous points, many meetings being held at privati' houses ^ 
prominent among- those mentioned in this vicinity are INIr. Hugh 
ilhod''v' and 'Siw Xichol-;on's, and this was all beside the honie 
work. 

In 1842, he preached one lumdred and seventy sermons, and 
traveled '2W>, miles. In isj;',, he preached tw.) hundred sermons 
and rode 2,.']'»o miles, administered the sacranu'nt nine times, 
received seventeen into fellowship with the church. In 1844, he 
preached X)ne hundred and eighty-one sermons, and traveled ;),l(i.'> 
miles. 

This he characterizes as "a barren, barren year, frought witli 
many discouragements" Still he continued to labor even more 
abundantly, and outsitle of this strictly ministerial work, he lec- 
tured frecjueutly upon reforms and scientific subjects, giving' 
temperance and anti-slavery addresses without number, also as- 
tromical lectures, broaching among other things the then new 
" Nebular theory " of creation, hoi)ing thus as he says, " to open 
tlie eyes of the understanding, that men might be induced to lis- 
ten to God's word by a consideration of his works." Who can 
measure the influence of such a man in moulding public senti- 
ment in the then new and plastic condition of our conununity? 



AND ITS riONEEllS. 21^ 

And this work was performed at the cost of personal discomfort 
and self-denial, both to himself and family, that wonld a[)pal peo- 
ple now-a-days. As to salaries, he says : " Tlie 1 lome^Iissionary 
Society heli)ed in some eases to raise them to |4(I0 per annum, but 
this was only for a favored few. ]My salary for the first twelve 
years of my missionary life averaji'ed about $800 i)er year." No 
wonder his wife writes, " we did not live but only endured in 
those days." 

" Mr. Wright bore a great deal of what we may now eall perse- 
cution and unmerited obloquy for Ids devotion to anti-slavery 
principles, l>eing' rather the standard bearer of the old "liberty 
party " in tliis county. He never slirank from the odium incur- 
red, for his own sake, but rather rejoiced that he was deemed 
worthy to suffer for the oppressed; but when it interfered with his 
usefulness as a mhiister of Christ, and thinned his conjiregations, 
then came many a painful struggle, as to wiiere lay tlie i)ath of 
duty, and many a heartfelt prayer for Divine direction. Then his 
interest for the temi)erance reformation and against the prevalent 
practice of "timl)er hooking" made him some enemies. Men 
did not brook reproof then, any better than now and he could 
not let wrong doing go umvproved ; so there was a time when 
many railed at him, but he swerved not, remembering probably, 
" woe unto thee when all men speak well of thee." 

" But in no way can we so well l)ring before our readers a correct 
idea of this life of labor and self-sacrifice as a series of extracts 
from his diary, entitUMl, " ^V journal of missionary work in 
Stark county," commencing December, IS 11, and running for- 
ward over the next seven or eight years. 

" First entry, December 2tth, 1841. " Started for AValnut creek, 
there had been a great rain, the creek was swimming; Kichard 
and William Dunn were with me; had much ditticulty in cross- 
ing the branch above Trickle's mill ; had to break ice for near an 
hour, and to go round by Fraker's grove, in order to get to the 
bridge l)elow C'entreville; i)reac]ied at Mr. Foster's Friday eve- 
ning, ttc, etc. 

"January 17th, 1842— Last Tuesday gave another astronomical 
lecture at Rochester ; it was very muddy, yet the house was well 
filled, mostly with men, who gave close attention. Thursday, 
went to rrinceville; very few came out to hear the temperance 
lecture, and only four signed the pledge; on my way back, found 
Spoon ri\^er over its banks for a quarter of a mile or more, and the 
ice too thick to break; went back to Rochester and there made 
out to cross the river. Saturday evening, gave an astronomical lee- 



220 ST A] IK corxTV 

ture to a full Iiousc at Lalayette; Sunday morning' ]ircaclu'(l, and 
in the evenino- lectured on tt'inix-nince; twenty-four ^^iJiiu■d tlie 
pledge, in all sixty-two at this pUu-e. 

"January ;Ust, 1842 — Find 1 have atteniled evening meetings 
for ten successive nights ; feel the need of rest to keep health ; 
ean't l)ear everything, though I should love to hold meetings sev- 
en times a Aveek, while I live. February 7th; came into collision 
with ]Mormons on Walnut creek. 

"April 18th— Went to Knoxville to attend the <lehate between 
Kinney and Frazer, also to obtain a teacher, which I effected. 

" INIay 2nd — Went to Lafayette to hear Mr. Harris expose ]Mor- 
monism ; rehearsed his lecture to my people at iNlr. Webster's. 
Jiast week preached but twice; ploughed the rest of my Held, and 
.sowed four and a lialf bushels of oats. 

"May 0th— Went for the Hrst tinu' to Osceola ; in-eached in the 
morning to a large and attentive audience; in the evening deliv- 
I'red a temperance lecture, following ('a])tain liutler. 

" May 2ord— Preached at .James :\Ic("lennahan\s, in the heart of 
the Mormon settlement ; hope good was done. 

".June ()th — Formed a sabbath school; borrowed forty-nine 
volumes from the Osceola school. 

"August 1st— ^Meeting of the association; circumstances rath- 
er disheartening-; hurry of harvest, heavy rains, &q.; cold and 
ilamp in the barn where Me met, as it was not all enclosed. 

"August 22nd— Worked at getting stone for a well, and har- 
vesting my oats ; preacheil twice on Sabbatli. 

" There is a great effort to destroy the influence of this church 
by reporting that we are abolitionists, an<l have formed lines for 
helping runaways, hence are as bad as horse thieves. 

" Many are highly prejudiced against us, and what the end will 
be, the I^ord only knows. We are conscientiously engaged in do- 
ing to others as wi' would that they should do unto us ; and if 
this will injure the cause of Christ in the long run, we are deceiv- 
ed. True, it is very unp()i)ular, and many that would otherwise 
attend the preached word and sal)l)ath school, stay away. Lord 
«jive us the wisdom of serpents and the harmlessness of doves. 
8ome of the church are also offended ; I^ord restore them. 

"Se])tend)er 14th — Went to Henderson and Oalesburg ; made 
iirrangements for a meeting at Jjafayette; at Jvnoxville was hin- 
dered all the next day endeavoring to get relief for five colored 
persons who were that day imprisoned l)ecause they could not 
produce full evidence that they were free. 

"October ;]rd — Went to Walnut creek ; found very many sick, 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 221 

bilious lavcr i>revailini4'; many also arc sirk in our nciuhhorhood 
with whom I have spent much time last week. 

"November IStli — Last week I went to ( ialesbur<>' to att^'iid tlie 
assoeiation; no minister present Init myself. Preaehed Tour suc- 
cessive (lays, and was detained two <lays lonj^'er by the severity of 
the weather. How soon I can return I know not, as the snow is 
badly drifted and the wind yet hif^'h and cold. 

"November 80th — Went to Farmington to attend the sitting- of 
jyresbytery; (h'tained there two days ; then went to Ellisville and 
preached to a few hearers, twenty-tiv(M>r thirty, from a p()[)ula- 
tion of one hundred and fifty. IIow has the j^old become dross? 
Two years ai^o it was said all EUis^-ille was converted. From El- 
lisville went to 8wan creek. The country is fast iilliny up ; where 
six years ap:o everything was in a state of nature as far as the eye 
could see, now farms are seen in all directions, and many little 
towns are springing up. Preached five times at Swan creek. 

"December 24th — Attended the first meeting- for mutual im- 
provement at Knoxville ; also the other association, indeed had a 
prominent part in it, but was comi)elletl to tear myself away as 
jiiy house and family needed my attention, for it is very cold and 
our liouse has neither doors nor floors. 

"I have spent all the week at hard work, and we have just got 
the lower floor laid, the doors in, and the upper floor battened a 
little. 

"January 4th, 184;}— Early on Monday morning a daughter A\as^ 
born to us, and, as it was the day of fasting and prayer for the 
conversion of the world, in the afternoon I preached a sermon. 

"January 28d— Preached at Toulon on the Sabbath, in the court 
house which had just been received from the builders by the 
county commissioners. Tl^ere was no Are in the house and it was 
a chilly day; still there were i>erhaps sixty in attendance, and I 
left another appointment in four weeks. 

"February Gth — Last week hud much severe cold weather; had 
to be at home most of the week; read "Home's Introduction," 
&c. On Friday another fugitive from slavery came along, mak- 
ing twenty-one that have passed through this settlement on their 
way to Canada. To-day it is extremely cold, the ink freezes in 
my pen as I try to write beside the stove. 

"February 20th — Did not go to Toulon, am almost sick from 
cold, my horse is lame and it is too cold to hold meeting in the 
court house without Are. 

"3Iay 22(1, 1>S4:{ — Last week was at home most of the time; 
planted potatoes, corn, &c., visited ii^mili(^s ; hope some good was 



222 STARK COUNTY 

(lone. Saturday, went to the Emery settlement, but found so 
.strong' an antipathy against aV)oliti()nists that hut few would hear 
nie i)reaeh, so 1 >\ent on, and on tSal)bath morning' })reaehed at 
Toulon to a large congregation ; most of the seats filled. Report 
said the Mormons meant to encounter me here and draw me into 
a debate, but all passed off quietly. 

"May 2Mth — The grand jury found a l)ill against me, and my Pol- 
der, W. W. Webster, for harboring runaway slaves! Some ex- 
citement exists, but hope good will result. Many sympathize 
with us and with the oi)pr€'ssed, who had seldom thought on the 
.subject before ; and these wicked laws "to be hated need but to 
be seen." Rev. Osven Lovejoy, of Princeton is also indicted. 
We have not yet been taken by the sheriif, but probably shall be 
soon. 

"October 28rd, l^Vo — Sabbath at Toulon; many Mormons came 
expecting a champion to attack me ; there were a numl)er of their 
elders present ; I fully ex^iected an attack, but they did not see 
lit to make one, probably waiting to get a big gun for the assault. 

"August 14th. — Last week worked three days at harvesting. 
Much sickness around. Our election took place, and I 1>elieve 
there were eleven liberty votes cast in the county ; last year there 
^\'ere but two ! 

" Xoveml)er 20th, 1843 — Last week had the house plastered ; had 
to attend mason myself, cV'C, &:c For live weeks have been to 
work almost constantly al)out home, trj'ing if possible to get the 
house comfortable to winter in. It has been almost insupportable, 
especially for the children. Never, since 1 began to labor in the 
ministry have I had, until now, a house with more than one room 
in it, which has hail to answer for kitchen, parlor, bed-room, clos- 
et, <1'C. My sermons have all been prepared in the midst of the 
confusion of cooking, care of children, and comi)any I Xow l)y 
the l>lessing of Ood, I have a room for retirement and study. 

"December loth — Last week worked at getting wootl ; got a good 
supply for the winter; preached live times; rode seventy -five 
miles, went to Knoxville to give information to the committee 
on home missions ; got horse shod and wagon repaired. 

" ]May 20tli, 1^44— Heard there was to be an informal meeting of 
presbytery at Knoxville, and went, returning the next day in the 
rain. Sal)bath rainy, but preached twice ; we have more rain 
.than ever before; creeks are all full, bridges gone, the earth per- 
fectly saturated A\ith water, sickness begimiing to prevail, lung- 
fevers especially. 

"May 24th — Last week court sat ; no complaints against "Nigger 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 223 

stoalors " this time; court lu'ld but one day. Tuesday went to 
iS[r. Rhodes' and to Lafayette to make arranu'ements tor a con- 
vention and debate on Friday. Friday, went to Toulon to attend 
tlie convention; W. .T. P'raser and Fs(i. ivinney debated with 
James H. Dickey and O. P. Lovejoy, ujion tlie princijjh's and 
practices of tlie liberty party. Th.e deliate held from 2 P. M., till 
5, and from 7 till 3 A. INE. No decision was taken either by 
judges or vote; l)ut we thiidv tlie negative established nothing, 
it rained hard all night and in the morning creeks were almost 
impassable. In crossing a little branch l)etween ]Mr. Silliman's 
and Hugh Phodes' the water was so deep that my wagon uncoup- 
\od, and the hind parts tioated otf, and I went out with the fore 
wheels, well wet. 

"June 10th, 1S44 — Last week started with wife and two daught- 
ers for Knoxville, Galesburg, \'ictoria, tV:c. Wednesday evening 
at Knoxville, a most dreadful storm of wind, hail, rain and light- 
ning, broke over us ; several houses were unroofed and one new 
two story house was ui>set and dashed to fragments. In it were a 
mother and three children ; one child dangerously hurt. The 
storm raged from Galesburg to Si)Oon river, how much farther we 
know not. It seemed for many minutes impossible that the house 
in whicli we were could withstand its force. Mr. Cole was absent 
and no man present Ijut myself. There seemed J)ut a step be- 
tween us all and death. God alone could understand our feelings. 
The lightning was almost constant, and in many places seemed to 
be running all over the ground ; persons riding in wagons saw the" 
wheels apparently encircled with fire. This occurred on the 5th of 
June, 1844. .Streams are all swimming, bridges gone, roads dread- 
ful, still raining. 

"June 24th — Went to Knoxville as a witness for Rev. Mr. Cross, 
in the case of the People cs. Cross for harboring slaves ; at length 
a iwffe proserjxi was entered and I returned home. On Friday, 
went to Farmington to attend a convention for organizing a gen- 
eral association for the state. The constitution was changed in 
divers places, and the confession of faith sliglitly altered; strong 
resolutions passed on the subject of slavery. 

"July 2nd, 1844— Last week went to Lafoyette and Toulon to 
liear the candidates for congress speak. After IMr. Cross, the lib- 
erty candidate had spoken. Colonel W. H. Henderson delivered 
himself of a speech against abolitionists in general, and minis- 
ters in ])arti<'ular. At Toulon also, he expressed the same senti- 
ments, only was more personal. He warned the people against 
all sorts of abolitionists, said ' they would destroy the country ; 



224 STARIv COUXTV 

slavery wa.s a great eiu^e, hut ,God would remove it without hu- 
man in^irumeatality. Warned all not to hear abolition preach- 
er.K; lie would not hear one preach, .sing or pray ! neither should 
his children go to our sabbath scliool ; warned the children not to 
believe what such preachers said ; he would say to the gentleman 
whom he had iji his eye, we don't wa)it him, he can go back to 
the east where he came from ; I never heard him, and never will. 
If he comes here let him talk t(j empty seats,' etc. 

"August 12th— I^ast week went to election ; brought down the 
bil)les from Lafayette ; stacked my oats ; went to see Mrs. Nich- 
olson, (who is dying of cancer i; marked the bibles ; prepared two 
sermons; on Sabbath preached twice, and rode sixty-tive miles 
during the week. 

"September 28rd — Last week worked at home most of the time ;, 
threshed my oats, dug my potatoes, waited on the sick ; my wife 
has fever and ague. 

"September 80th — Was at home the former i)art of the Meek 
reading, etc. Thursday went to visit ]Mrs. ]N[cClennahan and Mr. 
Khodes. Friday attended to Inisiness for the bil)le society at Tou- 
lon ; got medicine for my wife of Dr. Hall ; went home and ad- 
ministered it. Saturday went to Lafayette and preached prepara- 
tory lecture. 

"July 8th, lS4o — IMonday, attended an adjourned discussion of 
anti-slavery principles at Toulon. I regret to be obliged to enter 
this field, others ought to do it ; but if they will not, shall I be 
silent ? Would it please God ? Would conscience leave me at 
ease? I pray God to guide me in this matter, and if I misappre- 
hend my duty, may I know it. 

"January 2-ith, 184(5 — Last week made arrangements for a preach- 
ing field, which will be Stark county only. Gave a lecture on cap- 
ital punishment at Toulon ; went to Walnut grove and preached 
on AVednesday evening, and on Monday evening a temperance 
lecture ; thence to Galesburg to attend examinations. 

"February 2d, 184G— W\nit to Lafayette ; found a INIethodist 
meeting whi^-h had continued for nineteen days with good suc- 
cess ; a spirit of union seemed to prevail. I was invited to preach, 
which I did ; then went to Toulon and Wyoming to arrange ap- 
pointments ; I am met by a good degree of cordiality, that shows 
prejudice has greatly abated. Salibath at Toulon ; the i)rospect is 
flattering as compared with former times. 

"February 9th, 1S4G— Last week went to Galesburg to attend the 



AXn ITS PIOXEKllS. 225 

installation of brother Jvc-lIof>'^- ; * was iinexnoctcdly called to give 
the ciiarge to the i)eo[>!e. After preaching we had a conference of 
bn^thren in reference to uniting our presbytery and central asso- 
ciation in a sort of x-ojiventiou, so ther(> shonid he one and not two 
l)o<lies. 

"June 2(ith — Left the association contrary to their vote, to fill 
a})pointnu'nts on tiie Sabbath, ^reached at Toulon to a full hous(\ 
from the te^t, ''no weapon formed against thee Khali prosper." 
^Vt Wyoming from the same. Next day spent with Dr. Castle 
reading "S[>ooner's work " 

"Tuesday, wentto Cialesburg to attend the commeuceir.ent exer- 
cises of Knox College. They were quite flattering to the institu- 
tion. jNlr. lilanehard, however, so far forgot the spirit of the age, 
and of the west, as to appear in a "toga," and to wear his hat, 
A'C, ttc, while giving his inaugural address. 

"August 2")th— Had a longinterview with Captain Butler. The 
captain is something of a Unitarian, but likes Walker's book on 
the philosophy of the plan of salvation pretty well, but thinks 
Walker fails to recognize one fact, viz: " penalty precedes protec- 
tion." If he could see the fallacy of this, his theory would be 
sapped. 

"August 31 — Last week wrote a letter covering two sheets, to Cap- 
tain Butler, trying to expose the fallacy of his dogma, "penalty 
})recedes protection ;" also aftended upon sick neighbors consid- 
erably. 

"On Saturday, preached another funeral sermon. Sunday morn- 
ing i)reached from 1st Corinthians, xv, 24-28, showing that the 
mediatorial key is given up at the resurrection, and that after- 
wards there can be no restoration to hapijiness or favor. P. M., 
found the sickness still increasing about Moulton ; l)ut few out in 
consequence. Just at the close of services, word came that wife 
was sick, so I returned immediately; shall visit here again as 
soon as wife's liealth pernuts ; she has a fever but hope nothing 
serious. 

"Wednesday, September loth — Was called to attend a funeral at 
the residence of Mv. liuswell, of a little boy who had suffered 
greatly from stricture of the bowels. The family are deeply atilic- 
ted. Saturday I had an attack of fever myself ; was better on 
Sunday, so I preached twice, but have been very weak ever since. 

"September 2Gth — Tried to gain a little strength by cutting corn; 
am some better, went to ^'■ictoria. Came home on ^Monday ; 

* Fiist I'n'.-iiilciit of Knox C(ill(>|;<' ; but tlii-i iiiiHt Uavi' Ix't'ti liis iiistiilhitioii as rastor of tlio 
I'irst <'liiircli of (ialeslnirg. 

15 



2:26 STARK COUNTY 

found Edward had bseii taken sick all alune at home ; wife and 
daughters were with me; wife hardly able to sit u]); thought riding- 
might benefit her; Edward had a high fever which lield him till 
"Wednesday morning; came on again on Thursday morning with 
great violence. The girls too have botli suffered similar attacks, 
though not so severe. We have had work hands all week finish- 
iiig off the chambers, so all week, could do no more than wait on 
the sick and heli) wife about the house. 4 

"Saturday expected to deliver a preparatory lecture at the court 
house in Toulon, but found sickness had been so severe there, that 
hardly any of tlie In'ethren could attend ; posti)oned it for four 
weeks. The health of my family is improving. The amount of 
sickness is un})aralleled, although not very fatal. 

"October 17th, 184G— Started for synod at Belvidere ; took wife 
and daughters to Henry, to stay with brother PeiuUeton's wife, 
while he and 1 go to synod in company. As we went north, found 
sickness even more severe than at h(jme. Absent 12 days ; fami- 
ly still suffering from intermittent fever; Edward on his bed, and 
the little girls unable to ride. 

"Saturday, October 24th — Still find much to do at home on ac- 
count of sickness in my family and among the neighl)ors. Have 
been all this morningfeedingand picking cornforMr. A. A. Dunn, 
who is confined to his bed. This is the third time I have been to 
help him this week. 

"I have studied none and spent but little time in private devo- 
tions of late, but trust I have been in the path of duty, neverthe- 
less. 

"November (Jth, 184() — Had a good meeting at l)rother Hugh 
Rhodes', persons from different parts of the county. They agreed 
it was best that 1 should remain and ijroceed to organize a Con- 
gregational church in Toulon the last Sabbath of the month. 

"Decamber 1st— On Sabbath Bro. Parker was with me at Toulon 
and we organized a churcli of nine mend)ers. It was a solemn 
time. The house was full and I hope a good impression was 
made. 

"January 5th, 1817 — ^ Went to attend the ordination of brother 
Blanchard at Knoxville; very muddy bad roads. Arriving at 
home on Friday evening, found two fugitives from slavery had 
been along, with only "Christmas papers." Messrs. Smith and 
Oordon of Farmington pursued, got out a search warrant for two 
stolen horses and two colored men who were supposed to have 
stolen them. Neither horses or men were described except that 
one man called himself " Major." They searched our premises 



«l 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 227 

in vain, however, for the birds liad flown, having- got a wink from 
friends at Farniington that tliey were imrsued. .Several consta- 
bles and others followed them to Osceola, but before they reached 
there, the fugitives were safely out of the county. 

"October 18th, 1847— Last week attended themeeting of the as- 
•^ociation at Groveland; it was a pleasant and profitable time; we 
have now 11 ministers and IS churches — more than Knox Presby- 
tery ever hacV. 

"October 2Sth, 1847— Monday, returned to Toulon, bought 6} 
acres of land. Had my horse shod by Ford, wlio said he would 
take nothing but preaching for his work. He is doul)tless a wick- 
ed man, but I must visit in his family and try to do them good. 

"November 25th, 1847 — Visited Mr. McWilliams and was invi- 
ted to preach at liis house. Same evening married Miss Eliza 
Rhodes and C. ]M. S. Lyons. 

"December Gth— Came round by Toulon, and found a letter and 
box of goods for us from Sharon friends, etc. 

"March 27th, 1848— This week occupied pretty much in remov- 
ing to Toulon and fixing things there." 

Hereafter for ten years Mr. Wright's life was more closely iden- 
tified with the interests of the Congregational church at Toulon , 
which he built up from the little handful that met in Mr. Rliodes' 
cabin in November, 184(5, into a large and flourishing church, 
Avith a comfortable building of their own and which continues 
unto this day. 

Shall we ask pardon of the Stark county reader for introducing 
.so many extracts from this journal ; or rather express regret 
that we can give no more? Not on account of their intrinsic 
worth, of themselves considered, but on account of the memories 
they awaken and the light thrown on the "long ago." Such sim- 
ple allusions to matters then current, come to us now, with their 
far ofl" dates, like echoes from a huid we shall see no more. 

From tiie sanie source we could draw i)ictures of funerals and 
weddings, death bed scenes or joyous gatherings, at the very 
mention of which, to the aged among us, recollections would 
come trooi)ing up, like an unnumbered host. But in a work like 
this, we dare not enter on sucli a field. The extracts we have 
made are such as relate principally to the material or "outer life" 
of the writer, or show something of the spirit and temper of the 
times and men of which he writes. They show, too, very nearly 
what the lives of otlier earnest pioneer preachers were 30 or 40 
years ago. 

Of his "inner life," of thought and emotion, and more properly 



228 STARK COUXTY 

j>rofessional flutie^^, Avhere he had made record, we have quoted 
nothing-. For this, perhaps we owe him an apology, as it may 
seem to place him unfairly before our readers. 

Since leaving us, Mr. "Wi'ight has ministered to many churches; 
f(»r a time he was pastor of the Congregational church at Lyndon, 
in this state ; afterwards he held the same relation toward the 
churches of Galva and Neponset; but he has now for several years 
been residing at Bmlington, Kansas — still a missionary, still a 
worker, and will be wiiile life lasts. 

Surely his denomination has few, if any, more capal)le or faith- 
ful servants than the subject of our sketch. 



HALL FAMILY. 

Their Ancestors — Incidents of their Emigration and First Settlement 
in Iftinois. 

The Halls of whom I write, are directly descended from 
Thomas. Hall and Sarah his wife, nee Cokayne, of Hulland, Der- 
byshire, England. There, they ont-e formed a large and vigorous 
lamily, brothers and sisters a dozen in number, living to pass the 
meridian of life an unbroken band. 

" Mansel Park," the old English homestead, is still enshrined 
in the memory of the farthest wanderer of them all. 

At different times during the years 183ti, 1S37, and 1S8S, nine of 
tliese brothers and sisters crossed the sea, and settled in what \)i 
now, Stark county, Illinois. 

The first installment was Robert and his sister Mary, William 
and his wife Anne. Next came Langley, l)y the way of New Or- 
leans, that he might at less expense bring- with him a few fine 
sheep and dogs with which to begin life in this new world. He 
suffered shipwreck off the Florida coast, but after l^eing reduced 
to great straits of hunger and fatigue was in common with his 
shipmates rescued, and he finally arrived at the Osceola settle- 
ment. Then in 1837, came Thomas, with his wife and four chil- 
dren, bringing also with him his aged father, Elizabeth (Mrs. 
Harvey), her husband and five children. Some months later, 



AXD ITS PUJXEEU.*. 229 

J.>hn, George and Fanny, accompanied by 3Iiss Sarah Ligo, who 
-hortiv afterwards became 3Irs. Lans'Iev Hall. 

After about twenty years residence here, John, Langley ami 
*T3orge, hired by promises of a more desirable climate, again took 
up the line of march westwiird, and settled upon the farther slope 
of the Ri)cky mountains, where they still reside. 

Marj' became the wife of Mr. Orrin Hasard of Xeponset, Bureau 
county, Illirjois ; and Fanny, the youngest of the family, married 
Hon. Joseph Harris of Boyd's grove, in the same county, 3Irs. 
Harvey and William rest beside their father in the family burial 
ground at Osceola, while their mother sleeps beneath the sea. At 
this writing, in ISTG, Thomas and Robert and the widow of Wil- 
liam, alone remain to Stark countv' of those who were adult at the 
date of the first emigration. 

Their father was a plain sturdy Englishman, of tall statiire and 
rugge<l features ; in faith, a Meth(xlist, and cotemporary with .John 
Wesley aixl Adam Clark ; iu politics a radical, making no pre- 
tension to aristocratic tastes or descent, he was yet a man of 
strong common sense and strict integrity. But in their mother's 
veins ran gentler blood. Her progenitors had come from Xomian- 
dy with the "conqueror;" some old writers say were allied to 
him, but however that may be, they carried his banners on the 
bloody field of Hastings, and were rewardefl for their valor by 
I)rincely gifts of land and honors. They seem to have been ever 
an eminently loyal race, always fighting for or with their king. 
It is not necessary here, to follow their footsteps through the 
pages of English history, from the conquest to the protectorate, 
although it could \:>e easily done. At Tumey and Tur\^'\'ne, at 
Xaseby and Shrewsbury', at Leith and Edinburgh, wherever 
hard blows were to be given and taken, the C'okaynes were con- 
spicuous, 

A great-grandson of the man knighted at the taking of the 
latter eiti^, was Sir Aston Cokain, or Ashton C'okayne. The 
orthography of these old names varies at difterent dates and in 
different places. This gentleman was born at or near Ashbourne 
in Derbyshire, in 1008, and was known among writers of his day 
as a " wit and dramatist," and although he may have reflecte<l 
.some lustre upon his ancient lineage by his talents and acquire- 
ments, he seems to have been a boon companion of other celebrat- 
e<^l wits and courtiers of Charles II's time, and to have squander- 
ed orencumbered the fine estates he had inherited, many of which 
passed out of the family in his life time, or immediately subse- 
quent to his death. But as the Cokaynes had continuet.l, so far as 



230 STAKK COUNT V 

V 

we can learn, llomanists in foith, as vvell as loyal to a fault, it can 
be readily conceived they had suffered severely during- Crom- 
well's protectorate and its antecedent struggles ; so prolxibly, the 
improvidence of Sir Aston did but give another blow to the al- 
ready falling fortunes of his house. 

For generations their princii)al seat in Derbyshire had l)een in 
the vicinity of Ashbourne, and the church at that iilace still con- 
tains many interesting memorials of them. Grim old knights 
and stately ladies repose in a sort of gloomy granduer upon their 
marble tombs, whose quaint and curious records reveal the 
strange story of their lives to their latest descendants. 

A portrait of Lady Dorathea Cokayne by Holbein, now in pos- 
session of Dr. John Cokayne Copestake of Wyoming, Stark coun- 
ty, Illinois, is probably the only relic of the ancient magnificence 
of the Cokaynes that has ever crossed the Atlantic. 

Tliis picture possesses a peculiar interest for any one who loves 
to peer into the shadowy past, not only for its family associations 
but as an art treasure. Tliose versed in the history of art are 
aware that prior to the reign of Henry ^"III, no portraits of any 
note had been painted in England. During the reign of that dis- 
solute but generous monarch, letters and art took fresh root in 
his dominions. Erasmus visited the English court, and being 
a friend and countryman of the celebrated i)ainter Holbein, 
invited him to come too. He came and was introduced at court 
by Sir Thomas More, and at once became "the rage " among tlie 
nobles and aristocracy of the land. H.olbein reigned like a king- 
in his own realm, while he continued to amass great wealth, l)ut 
death put an end to his triumphs, A. D. l")o4. 

These facts furnisli a clue to the date of the portrait, and togeth- 
er with the style of costume, and other co-relative incidents, es- 
tablish beyond doubt tliat the original of this picture was the 
wife of the Sir Thomas knighted at Edinlturgh in 1544, and who 
died in 1593. But in 1780, or thereabout, the male line of this 
old fiimily became extinct, two sisters only being heir to the tra- 
ditions of the Cokaynes of Derbyshire! These sisters became in 
course of time, Mrs. Earp and Mrs. Hall. Thus the old name 
was extinct, or preserved only as a prefix among their descend- 
ants, and it is curious to observe that few of them have failed to 
pay this sly tribute to ]>ride of blood, even in the midst of a re- 
publicanism that i^rofesses to sneer at such distinctions. 

The marriage l)etween Thomas Hall and Sarah Cokayne, occur- 
red probably in 1797. In 1837 this aged couple set sail for Ameri- 
ca, in company with the family of Dr. Thomas Hall, and their 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 231 

eldest dau.fi'litor, Mrs. Ilnrvey. But the weary sea voyage of over 
six weeks duration was too luueli ibr tlie already failing- health of 
INIrs. Hall, who sunk from exhaustion induced by excessive sea 
sickness, a few days before the vessel reached the harbor of New 
York. The recollections of that sad funeral can never fade from 
the memories of those who witnessed it, even in their early child- 
hood, or the aged husband's last tribute to the virtues of his wife, 
wrunj? from his breaking- heart as she Avas carried past him on the 
ship-deck, all shrouded in sail-cloth and weighted preparatory to 
her burial beneath the sea. These were his words : " Farewell 
thou best of women." The solemn rites of the English church 
Avere performed over one who had always loved them well. The 
body was then reverently lowered to the surface of the waves 
which silently closed over it and told no tales of sorrow. The re- 
mainder of this group of emigrants with smitten hearts pursued 
their journey toward a land of strangers. 

Passing- up the lovely Hudson, its banks clothed in all the 
freshness of early sujnmer, they came to Albany, thence to Buffalo 
by tlie EIrie canal, then l)y steam .to Cleveland, from Cleveland to 
Portsmouth by Ohio canal, again to Carlo and St. Louis by so call- 
ed steamboats, but which w(re hardly more than a caricature of 
the I)oats that have since plied our western waters. Our travel- 
ers left St. Ijouis on tlie "Swift Sure (?)" on Friday morning, and 
did not reach Peoria until Tuesday night. Tiiey passed Alton on 
Sunday morning-, as peopU^ were going to church, and on Monday 
jnorning were still Just above the city tied to a tree! as through 
some defect in her engine the Swift Sure could not stem the cur- 
rent, and tliere was danger of her being drifted back during- the 
night. So much for the pleasures of traveling in b'-^:>7. But Pe- 
oria was finally reached on the night of July 4th, and the emi- 
grants learned something, new to them, of the confusion and dis- 
order following a celebration of inde])endence day. Several days 
passed ere teams could be secured and drivers solier enough to 
manage them, to convey the two fiimilies and their effects to Wy- 
oming, their ultimate goal being Osceola grove. Peoria was then 
but a hamlet on the lake. A half built hotel on the corner of 
Main and Water streets, kept by Oarrett, affordetl shelter to stran- 
gers. On the evening of July the 8th, the two families, and 
Thomas Hall, sen., arrived at the house of General Thomas at 
Wyoming, and had seen but one log hut since leaving Peoria. 

Early on the morning of the !)tli, th(> doctor hired a horse of 
General Thomas, and made his way to " Vandyke's ford," there 
received fresh directions bv means of which he found his brother 



-32 STARK COUNTY 

William's cabin in due time. Soon an ox team i.nl biy wagon 
were on tlieir wivy to Wyoming-, and after sundry exixn-ieiu-cs, 
novel as trying, to the occupants of the big wagon, lioine was at 
last reached, and brothers and sisters, parted weary months Vk- 
fore in England, were now I'e-united in Illinois. But the congrat- 
ulations of what would otherwise have Ix'cn such a lia})i)y meet- 
ing, were drowned in tears at mention of their honcjred mother 
whom they could no longer even hoi)e to see again on earth. 

We must now go h,vA<. in the order of time some eighteen 
months, or to February, 1S36, when tlie first installment of this 
family sailed for the new world, and, as nnglit be expected, met 
even greater obstacles and privations in the course of their journey 
than were encountered by the second gr()U[), to which we have 
briefly alluded, as at this period of history every subsequent 
year rendered emigration easier and i)ieasanter ; some one has 
said " a winter x>assage of the Atlantic is init a sliort cut to a wat- 
ery grave," and too often it proves so, even in these days of im- 
proved navigation. 

Let those who can, imagine its horrors in 1S36, before the inven- 
tion of ocean steamers, and when the tinancial ruin that had overta- 
ken this family-, comi)elled them to content themselves with cheap 
accommodations on a sailing vessel. Head winds and rough seas 
made their voyage unusually tedious, and when in mid ocean, 
they encountered icebergs that threatened certain destruction. 
Butafter overseven weeks buffeting with tlie waves,tliey anchored 
in the harbor of New York. Mrs. William Hall had an uncle in 
Pennsylvania, who made a (luiet resting place for them, but after 
recruiting for a little while, they resumed their journey westward, 
crossing the mountains by a " horse railway," a means of transit 
that luid new terrors for the women, at least. At Pittsburg they 
took a boat down the (Jhio. Tliey had reason to fear they had 
l)een exposed to small pox, and soon discovered that two of their 
party, (Robert and IMary) had fallen victims to this terril:)!e mala- 
dy. This was a sad trial to these strangers in a strange land ; they 
feared to have their condition known lest they should be summar- 
ily set ashore and abandoned to their fate. So they nursed their 
sick as (luietky 'as i)ossil)le, asking aid from no one, until the boat 
exploded one of her cylinders, scalding two engineers to death, 
and filling every nook and corner with hot steam ; then the sick 
were snatched from cheir berths and hurried on deck, not know- 
ing Wiiat sliape di-ath would meet them. But so great was the ex- 
citement on Ijoard, that although the faces of the sufferers were 
then a mass of eruj)tion, no one seemed to notice them, and they 



AXD ITS PIONEEHS. 2;].} 

crept back to their ))eds without experieneing- any serious results 
from their Mi>-ht and exi)osure. By the time they readied St. 
Louis tiiey were able to pass muster without attracting attention, 
and arrived in l^eoria early in tiie month of June, 1836, all in pas- 
sable health. (Ju the boats they had made the acquaintance of 
Archibald and Charlie ^"an.dyke and. Brady Fowler. These men 
were all in search of homes in the west ; so a common interest 
made them friends. When the Halls left England they all look- 
vd toward Jacksonville as a place of residence, but for some rea- 
son changed their minds. While at Peoria they met with those who 
recommended the ( )sceo!a region highly. Major Moore, Watts and 
iSpencer had just c(»m})lete(l tiie original survey. Messrs. Buswell 
and Winslow had been to the grove, made claims, built calnns, 
and then returned for a time to Peoria. Under directions from 
]Moore, the Hall and Vandyke brothers started early in June to 
walk across the pathless prairies that then stretched from Mount 
Hav\'ley to Wyoming. After resting at Wyoming ibr a short 
time, as did nearly all who journeyed this way in those days, and 
being refreshed l)y a good meal, they proceeded toward the grove. 
Here they found several families encamped, some sheltering in 
cabins half built. Among these were Mr. William Parks ; he had 
moved from Virginia with his teams, had a huge boat-shaped 
Avagon, drawn by four stout horses, one of which he rode, postil- 
lion fashion, when on the road. He also owned a "carry-all" that 
cut ({uite a figure in the social life of that neighborhood for many 
years. 

The Hall brothers hired this man, his big wagon and team to 
return with them to Peoria after the women and goods, the latter 
only amounting to fourteen large boxes. 

.Since the men had left Peoria a drove of cattle l^ad passed 
through, and Anne and Mary each bought a cow. So now they 
loaded up— women and goods in the wagon, ]Mr. Parks on his 
horse, and the men on foot to drive the stock. 

They provided themselves with l)read and cheese for refresh- 
ment at noon, fully expecting to enjoy supper and bed at the 
house of (ieneral Thomas, at Wyoming. The wagon was cover- 
ed, and so fully loaded that the women had to sit in a constrain- 
ed and uncondbrtaljie jiosition, and would often have preferred to 
have walked for a time, but as the grass was nearly to their waists 
and they had an English liorror of snakes, this was a poor relief. 

The day wore slowly away ; they were all very weary, the 
horses often floundering in treacherous sloughs, the wagon rock- 
ing like a shii^ at sea, while the driver hallooed to his team in a 



231 STARK COUXTY 

manner that startled, alniostfrijilitened those unaccustomed to such 
sights and sounds, hut still no Wyoming dawned upon their anx- 
ious eyes. At lengtli night came on, the team was exhausted, the 
driver confessed himself lost, and there was no alternative but to 
wait the dawning of another day uiM;)n the open prairie. The 
horses ate eagerly of the grass around them, the women crept 
faint and hungry under the shelter of the wagon cover, and the 
men threw themselves upon the ground beneath. They were 
all too excited to sleep much ; the women's minds were busy 
thinking of the homes and friends they had left, contrasting the 
comfort of tiiat life with the hardships of this, for although they 
had braced their minds to meet bravely whatever befell, yet this 
was a performance not thought of Miien the programme was 
made out. 

When Mrs. William Hall had in her English home revealed to 
her mother her plan, to be married shortly, and two wrecks there- 
after to set out for America, the good woman exclaimed " Oh, 
Anne, you are going to suck down sorrow by the spoonful." That 
night on the prairie, and many a night afterwards her daughter 
rememl)ered those words, and perchance thouglit them prophetic. 
Yv'hen they suspended their journey the lightning was playing 
about the horizon, and by midniglit a storm broke upon them 
such as they had never conceived of, and such as is rarely wit- 
nessed here, of late years. But morning came at last, the rain 
had ceased, and they started again for AVyoming, or any other 
point where food and shelter could l)e olitained, and about ten 
o'clock A. M., the cabin of (reneral Thomas was reached. 

Ilefreshed by a good breakfast and a brief rest, the emigrants 
again started forward, only to renew the exi)eriences of the previ- 
ous day with new complications. They first made for Mr. James 
Holgate's place, and there got directions fV)r Seeley's Point, pret- 
ty well to the east of the grove. By this route they hoped to 
reach the unoccupied cabin of Mr. Buswell, of which they were 
to take possession until they could build one. But Spoon river 
must be crossed by a deep and dangerous ford, where the chances 
were very good that the wliole load would capsize down the 
steep bank into the water, and by the time this difficulty was dis- 
posed of, the shades of evening were again closing round them. 

William Hall, who it will be reraembei'ed hacf been over this 
route but lately, to make his claim, now proposed to leave the^ 
party and make his way on foot directly to the cabin, kindle 
a fire to guide the rest, and have some food in readiness when 
they arrived. He was spurred on to tliis course, more especially 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 235 

as his youns: wife was already iviling under the combined strain of 
IVitigue and excitement, and lie feared if rest and refreshment 
could not soon be procured she would be seriously ill. He suc- 
ceeded in carrying out his part of the contract without mucli diffi- 
culty, and ])y nightfall a bright fire was blazing on the rude 
hearth of the cabin. But no wagon put in an appearance, and 
the solitary watcher looked and listened in vain for any sight or 
sound of the wanderers. In fact they were far to the north-east 
of the grove, near where the town of Osceola was afterwards laid 
out — the team floundering hopelessly among the big sloughs, and 
the driver again pretty well confused as to the points of the com- 
pass. For miles the women had been driving the cows ; Ilobert 
aiding the driver and keeping a sharp lookout for signals from 
William, or for game that would add to the repast if they reach- 
ed the cabin fire. 

Mrs. Hall had been slowly growing worse, and finally crawled 
back into the crowded wagon, in blank despair. Robert had been 
discharging his gun and blowing his bugle, in the vain hope of 
making somebody hear; V)ut the dull and distant echoes were 
their only response. 

At last Mary's quiet courage began to give way, and she turned 
to the l>ewildered 3[r. Parks, and said " for goodness sake take us 
somewhere; another night out now will kill Anne." " If there is 
nowhere to go to, Ikjw can I take you ?" curiously enough enquir- 
ed the poor man. 

Soon after things had reached this crisis, somebody noted a 
glimmer near the western horizon ; at first they feared it was Init 
a star, but as they gradually drew nearer, concluded, not that it 
was "a light in the window for thee," for well they knew the 
home they souglit had no windows, but a light issuing from the 
ojien door of a cal)in. Robert again blew a blast upon his bugle 
horn, which was answered by a shot from the cal)in. So they 
made their way through the dense wood, over hills and througli 
hollows, over fallen logs and swampy sloughs, and finally, abend 
eleven o'clock P. M., drew up at the cabin door. 

A bed was soon made for the sick woman, and they carried her 
in, gave her tea and vvine, composf^tl themselves to rest with 
thankful hearts after their long and perilous journey of nearly 
five months duration. And this was the strange connng home, 
the first "house warming " of the Halls in Illinois, and occurred 
on Friday, June 2Gth, 1S3G. ]Mr. Parks went a mile or more to 
reach his own home. 

Mrs. Hall slept but little if any that night, and as she was rest- 



23G STARK COUNT V 

less and anxious to see wiiat thesurrounding.s were, as soon as day 
dawned she lirose, partially dressed, and ([uietly slipped out. As 
may be imagined all tliat met her eye was a wild unbroken soli- 
tude, nothing save the rude htlt, that bore the imi:)ress of human 
hands, or that showed a human foot had ever approached the spot. 
The grass and weeds were tall as lierself, and a heavy dew lunig 
on them, glittering in the dawning light like frost work. Wheth- 
er overcome by conflicting emotions or by increasing weakness, 
she knows not, l;)ut slie swooned and fell. When the men arose 
they were distressed to find her lying in an unconscious state be- 
side the cabin wall. Again they carried her to her resting ph\ce 
in the corner, administered the best restoratives their circumstan- 
ces permitted, and hung over lier witli anxious hearts. She soon 
rallied and begged them not to be alarmed ; she said " it was only 
A\'eakness induced Ijy fatigue." It was Saturday now, and know- 
ing that the Sturnis at Seeley's Point had horses to sell, Kobert 
went to l)uy a team, which lie did, getting Dick and Queen, two 
horses deservedly famous in the annals of the family f(jr twenty 
years thereafter. 

But Mrs. Hall grew worse instead of better, and during the sec- 
ond (Satnrday) night, was tinite delirious, raving so pitiously of 
past scenes, that the courage of all faltered, and on Sunday morn- 
ing her husband was about starting back to Peoria, only fifty 
miles away, for a physician. 

Just then Mr. Parks rode up to encpiire after the welfare of the 
new coiners, especially the one he had left so sick. They told 
him their fears; he said M'hat he could to allay them and advised 
them not to go to Peoria yet. " He would fetch Xancy (his wife) 
who had a g(^od deal of experience among sick folks." And soon 
the good woman came, and then and there began a series of min- 
istrations to the sick and sutfering for which she has long been 
held in grateful remeiiibrance. 

Her knowledge of simple remedies, her words of encourage- 
ment and kind attentions in times of affliction, were a real boon 
to the infant settlement. This kind old lady yet lives, having en- 
tered her ninety-third year, and an honored old age is hers. 

" Her children have risen up to call her blessed," and thougli 
her flesh is sul)ject to. many infirmities, yet is her spirit tranquil, 
and her faith looks steadfastly to\\ards that brighter country, 
"where the inhabitants never say, I am sick." 

But to resume our story. jNIrs. Hall soon recovered under good 
and careful nursing, and prejnirations for building themselves a 
house went rapidly forward. First of course trees must be felled 



\ 

m 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 287 

for the log's, and this was aM'kward work for the Plalls, as i)rol:)a- 
l)ly neither of them had ever s\\'ung- an axe before, at least not 
sueh an axe as is used l)y the American backwoodsman to such 
advantajj:e. But they worked with a will and whacked away at 
the trees all round, until by the time they were ready to fall they 
were literally whittled off to a point. 

This style of work could be seen as long- as the first cabin stood 
and was the butt of numberless jokes among the neighbors touch- 
ing the capabilities of Englishmen as wood choppers ! 

But the logs answered a good purpose, nevertheless ; a story- 
and-half house was raised, a sawpit was dug in which a large two 
liandled saw could be worked, and thus they made their own 
)»oards; the tools were unpacked and as William had some practi- 
cal knowledge of their use, they soon had floors and battened 
doors, and windows with glass in them, which advantages were 
almost enough to make them "take airs" over their neighbors, in 
those times. This house became a sort of headquarters for all in- 
coming detachments, and if its half floored loft was sometimes 
so crowded with beds and their occupants, that some luckless 
wight occasionally made a sudden descent to the next floor, he 
was pretty sure to find a bed r'^ady to catch him there, so no seri- 
ous results followed, only some slight re-adjustment to secure safe- 
ty the balance of the night. 

Here the weary " itinerant " always found a home, and the pi- 
ous of every name a welcome. Within its walls were assembled 
some of the first congregations that ever met for religious wor- 
ship in the settlement. Often and again, have roof and rafters 
rang with the grand old hymns learned across the sea. "Den- 
mark" and "Coronation," "Old Hundred" and "Silver Street," 
were "the familiar i)aths their souls oft trod towards Ood." 

The clear, full treble of the sisters chorded well with the deep 
bass of William's voice and the tones of his great viol, making- 
harmony that would have befitted better surroundings. 

In recalling this group, ]Mr. Oummings, the first missionary 
but lately said, " They were right loyal Metliodists of the true 
Wesleyan type." Audit was William Hall Mho led the first class, 
formed at Wall's by this missionary (to which reference is made 
in another i^lace) seven miles from his home, with an unl^ridged 
river intervening, and never missed an appointment in ten years I 

But the cabin long since gave place to a more modern and com- 
modius structure, and the once familiar name of WiUlam Hall 
lives there no more save in memory, or on sculptured marble. A 
son who bore it, gave his life for his country in 1802, expiring in a 



238 STARK COUNTY ' 

3Ienip]iis hospital; his fatlier wlio went to close liis eyes and 
bring- his remains home for interment, contracted the same army 
fever and soon followed his boy to the grave. But that first home 
in the g-rove has never been abandoned. The bereaved wife and 
inother still fondly clings to the spot, which for forty years has 
been hallowed by the presence of all that home means to faithful 
hearts. 

And thongh the death angel comes again and again, she weeps, 
but her faith falters not. And now at the age of seventy, still 
keeps " watch and ward" from h.er windows over the graves of 
her departed, patiently waiting, "only \vaiting" for permission to 
join them again in the realms of the blest. 

And to her memory wliich still reflects as in a clear mirror, all 
the events of her earlier life, the reader is indebted for the princi- 
jjal part of this narrative. 

So closes the story of William and Anne Hall. 

Robert, after heli)ing the people in the timber get astart, like a 
sensible man, built his house on the prairie. 

For a time he had for neighbors his sister, Mrs. Harvey, to the 
west of him and his brother Langley to the east. But they 
have both gone long since, one, to " that V)ourne from whence no 
traveler returns," the other to the Pacific coast, but Robert 
still lives where he settled forty years ago, and so quietly and un- 
obtrusively has he worked and saved, that people seem almost 
surprised to realize the tkct that he is comparatively a rich man, 
able to build a fine house and pay for it, and is actually verging 
on luxury in his old age. 

In 1840, he married Miss Harriet Marsh, a sister of Mrs. James 
Holgate, a lady of superior mental endowments, and*by her has 
had a large family of sons and daughters. 

Edgar, their eldest son, fills a soldier's grave, he having died in 
the service of the United States, at AV'hite Station, near Memphis, 
in 18G3. After forty years Americanizing, Robert Hall still shows 
unmistakably the stock from whence he sprung. Of all the sous, 
he is most like their father. 

"When young he manifested the English love of field sports to- 
gether with the kindred passion for fine horses and dogs, but in 
later years his nationality reveals itself in an increasing love-of 
retirement and dislike of ostentations and shams; for himself he 
asks nothing beyond a quiet corner by Jais own fireside, and the 
companionship of a few old friends. Then he can recall with evi- 
dent gusto, the adventures of his youth, the deer and wolf hunts 
of yore. 



' AXD ITS PIOXEERS. 239 

This land wliieh lie entered at Dixon in 18;3(j, is the north-east 
quarter of section 2, Ehnira township. Robert is a shre^^ d ob- 
server, a thrifty manager, and withal kindly of heart. Delight- 
ing to ol)lige a friend M'hen occasion offers, Init with oharactei'istio 
caution never letting " his left hand know what his right hand 
doeth." The plenty that crowns his age is but meet reward of 
his laborious and self denying- youth. 

Several members of this Hall fomily have manifested a marv- 
elous attachment for, and power over the l)rute creation. Perhaps 
this is more especially true of the three brothers now in Oregon. 

Through the long and wearisome journey hither in is;3(j or 1837, 
they l)rought with them the long wooled Leicestershire sheep, the 
first ever brought into this portion of the state, probably the first 
in any part of the western country ; also some fine dogs, among 
which were greyhounds, shepherd dogs and setters. 

John, the eldest brother who has always remained an incorrig- 
ible old bachelor, lavished upon these canine pets all the tender- 
ness men ordinarily reserve for their own kind. While en route 
for Illinois, he had, as an especial companion, a noble greyhound 
named Grasper, " unmatched for courage, breath or speed." 
"While on the canal they fell in with some sporting characters 
who offered an almost fal)ulous sum for this dog, three or per- 
haps five hundred dollars. John listened to the proposal, much 
as other men would listen to a proposition to dispose of wife or 
children for pecuniary considerations ! and spurned them accord- 
ingly. 

Not very long after their arrival here, unfortunately for Grasp- 
er, the fourth of July was to l>e celebrated by a " general hunt," 
and the faithful creature ran till he dropped dead by the way, 
probably sinking from the excessive heat to which he was unac- 
customed. Somelxxly was sordid enough to ask his bereaved 
master if he did not now regret refusing the round hundreds of- 
fered on the journey ? 

But he promptly responded "Xo ! I now know the worst ; had 
I sold him I should always have l)een afraid he was neglected 
or ill treated." George, the youngest brother was even more re- 
markable for his knowledge of and power over animals, even the 
most ferocious. Said a careful observer of men and things, 
^'George Hall is not one whit l^ehind Van Amburg as a beast tam- 
er, and could create as great a furor if he turned his attention to 
making public displays of his power." 

Langley and his sons have turned this gift to account mostly in 
the management of horses that others fail to manage, for which 



210 STACK COUXTY 

they are famous wherever known, liut as these men have long- 
since ceased to be citizens of Stark county, ^ve pass them by M'ith 
the mere alhi-^lDn to tliis curious cliaracteristic. 

And perliaps it is well we can do so, for Ivanc^'ley's humor, his 
clear insight of nature, his <puaint though subtle i)hilosophy are 
certainly indescribable by any process known to this writer. He 
was for many years a successful practitioner of medicine, but of 
late g'ives his time principally to the beautifying of his Oregon 
homestead, which he has enriched by the presence of many 
choice 'shrubs and trees brought from Europe, which his acquain- 
tance with the climate and conditions of the two countries, ena- 
bled him to select witli pretty good prospect of successful culture. 

This brings us, alinoat rchickinflij, to consider the last figure in 
this groui), Thomas, so long and familiarly known as " old Di\ 
ITall.'''' For when a father's life is weighed, it is a delicate task 
for a daughter's hand to adjust the scales. 

But, as it would be unfair to omit him in a record of Stark coun- 
ty j^ioneers, and unkind to slight him in his own family, Ave shall 
try to do our duty, and give the facts as they appear to us, trust- 
ing that if to others they seem colored by a daughter's partiality, 
an indulgent i^ublic will forgive the tault. 

Thomas Hall A\"as born (as were all his father's family) at jNIan- 
sel Park, near Hulland in Derbyshire. He tirst saw the light 
March 12th, 180-'), making him at this present writing, in the 71st 
year of his age. Being in his childhood of rather feeble health, 
he was excused from manual labor in a great degree, and allowed 
to indulge his studious turn of mind "to the top of his bent." 

Indeed, while hewasyet quiteyoung,itwasd^cidedtogivehima 
thorc^ugh education and professional training, in the direction of 
medicine and surgery. So he was kept steadily at school after he 
had reached his eighth year, first at the village school of Hulland, 
where he acquired the rudiment of an education ; from there at 
the age of ten, he was transferred to a sort of grannnar school at 
Weston- Vnder- Wood ; from there to Brailsford for the study of 
French and Latin; at fourteen he went for two years to a finishing 
school at (^uarndon, and at sixteen was "entered as an apprentice" 
(this being the law of the land) to Dr. Coleman of Wolverhamp- 
ton for five years. 

Having now attained his majority, "he went to walk the hos- 
pital at Guys," and during the next two years in London, enjoy- 
ed the instruction of many eminent men, whose names have since 
become historical, especially in the archives of medical science. 

A few of these we may record as ]30ssessing a modicum of inter- 



y\X!) ITS ProXKKllS. 241 

est for tho i)V(»iV'Ssioii:)l rciuU'r, should any sucii honor tlu'so iJiiov^r 
witli a perusal. "On Materia jNIodu-a and Thorapcnties" tho k>e- 
turor was Thomas Addison, M. J)., on " Tlic J'rinciith's and Prae- 
tioo of Pliysic," .Jolin Arnistrono-. On the dii»h)nia "granted Uy 
Tlionias liall, by "The Pi<)yal.t"oU('<>'(,' of Surgeons " in ls2S are 
tlio si^jnatures of Sir Astley Cooper and "plain Jolin Ahernetliy." 

In ]S.")(l, Pusli Medical Col Ici^c conferred on Tliomas Hall, in 
view of the hi<;h testimonials he had l)rou<;ht with him from Ids 
native land, and his lony experience in western practice, an "hon- 
orary de<;rce," constituting' him " Doctor of ^Eedicine," "done at 
Chicajj'o, Illinois, February 7th, ISf)!)." 

Thus, it may be seen the doctor holds in Ids hands tlie best cr(>- 
dentials of b!)th lands; but j)erliai)s no man ever lived who val- 
ued such honors less, or cared less for distinction of any kind. 
AV' hen he came to Illinois in 1837, he brought with him not only 
a thorough ac(iuaintance with his profession, but the prestig'e of 
nearly ten years successful practice at home ; to these advantages 
may be added an abounding vitality, giving- powers of endurance 
far beyond the average of men. 

Then he brought with him a library of clioice medical works 
and surgical instruments of the mostapproved pattern then known, 
to meet every emergency. 

Coming- thus ecpiipped, to a new and growing state, what opi)or- 
tunities for professional distinction and ultimate wealth loomed 
up before him, had he been gifted with even ordinary ambition. 
But this he had not. lie Iniilt him a cabin and settled down in 
the obscurity of Osceola Grove; and although the finest lands 
could still be held by pre-emi)tion, and afterwards came into mar- 
ket and were sold at ll.^o per acre, y(^t he never bought one, al- 
though trom the date of his settlement he had a large practice, 
soon kept four or five horses and rode almost constantly. 

In 1840, when sickness here assumed a very fatal type, dysente- 
ry and ty{)hoid fevers prevailing to a frightful extent, he rode on 
horseback for nine successive weeks, eighty miles one day and fif- 
ty-six the other, alternately. In ].S4(), he and his partner Dr. 
Chamberlain treated fifteen hundred cases of fever and ague or 
kindred diseases, using in their practice that season SO ounces of 
(piinine or its ('(juivalent, in the shai)e of the extract of Peruvian 
bark. 

When advised by his fanuly or friends in those days to collect 
liis dues and invest them in something for future resource, he 
would turn away with a smile saying, "Don't .bother me about 
such trifles, I am laying up treasures in Heaven!" 
10 . 



V'f, 



242 STARK COUNTY 

But wliile t'lius indifferent to [)ecuniar.y rewards, lie was by no 
means insensible to the approval, or gratitude of his patients. 
No man ever more liighly appreciated the beaming smile or mois- 
tened eye, that must sometimes reveal, especially to a physician, 
emotion too deep for utterance, (rr treasured in a warmer heart 
the memory of grateful words and generous deeds I One of his 
favorite (juotations shows this Vtent. 

" 77«' little rose that laugha upon its stem, 
One of the siveets ivif/t ichicJi the gardens teem, 

In value soars above an eastern gem 
When tender''d as the lolcen of esteem.'''' 

Indeed it would seem these sentiments chiefly inspired him du- 
ruing many years of active professional life ; for rather than dis- 
appoint the siclv whom he knew would be watching anxiously 
for his coming, he encountered all sorts of personal perils and dis- 
comforts^braved all dangers, buffetting with the fierce storm at 
midnight on the snow-covered pathless prairie, swimming swol- 
len rivers, sometimes with the thermometer so low that he was 
encased in an inflexible armor of ice, five minutes after he had 
emerged from the flood. 

For some of the most desperate of these exploits he rather seems 
to enjoy saying, "I never received a cent." 

Of late years, when to our view death seemed hovering very 
near him, he would refer to a little incident that occurred long 
ago, in his native land, liut which has no doulit colored more or 
less his whole life. When, as he relates, having wonhisdiploma, 
lie was about leaving home to begin life and practice for himself, 
his mother followed him to the gate, and laying her hand loving- 
ly on his shoulder said, "Tom, do your duty by all, but esi)ecially 
remember the poor;" and he would add " I am not afraid to meet 
my mother, for she knows I have done as she told me." 

But we must not particularize, or this sketch, which was inten- 
ded should be Ijrief, will grow into a volume. 

I)r. H all was married May 14th, 182!), to IMiss Matilda Manl- 
bld of iintTern, Derbyshire, England. 

This lady w^as otrr mother, and we have lost her all too lately to 
discuss with any appearance of im})artiality (if that was desira- 
ble) her life and character. Her memory is enshrined in tho 
hearts of her friends; ^v■e leave it with them alone, knowing this 
would be her desire could she be consulted ; for few ever shrank 
more instinctively from public gaze than she. Her inner life was 



AND ITS nONEERS. 243 

<i sealed casket, u )t many had the privik'^e of unloekiny. Let a 
reverential silence veil its treasures still ! 

Her children can never estimate their indebtedness to Jior, not 
only for the mere fact of existence, which sometimes in this un- 
certain world is ratlier a questionable boon, or for the mother's love 
she gave them all; but, for that "well of English undefiled," 
which her conversation always supplied, and for even a tithe of 
the mental acuteness and i»hysical vigor she possessed. .She left 
us August 8th, 1874, in the seventy-second year of her age, yet, as 
iinother truly said "she died as the young die," with all her facul- 
ties in full play, as if with her, it was yet life's inorning ! The 
children of this marriage are in the order of their ages. 1st, Eli- 
za, the writer of this little volume ; 2nd, Harriet ]M., wife of P. 
M. Blair, Esq.; od, Mary S., who rests beside her mother ; 4th, 
Henry M. Hall, present editor and proprietor of " The Red Oak 
New Era ;" oth. Dr. Walter Thomas Hall, successor to his father's 
home and honors ; Gth, Louisa, wife of Mr. John C. Emery, now 
of Ottumwa, Iowa ; 7th, James Knox Hall, at present following his 
trade, that of a printer, at Cambridge, Illinois. 

We inay remark in passing, that of these children, the first four 
M'ere born in England, prior to the emigration, the three remain- 
ing ones being native Illinoisans. Mrs. Emery was the first chihl 
ever born in the town of Toulon, to which place the family re- 
moved soon after the site was surveyed, and have resided within 
its limits since July 6th, 1842. 

As we write that date, memory reproduces with wonderful 
fidelity, the laieture of that summer morning, so 'ong ago. We 
had been up since dawn, marking with charcoal the logs in our 
big cabin, preparatory to taking them out of their places, and 
loading them on the wagons, which would soon be waiting for 
them. By six o'clock the family had breakftisted, the teams were 
arriving, and the bustle of moving began in earnest. Think of it 
eader, not only the contents of the house and all the appurtenan- 
ces of a large family to be packed and loaded, but the house itself 
to be taken down and prepared for a journey to Toulon ! We can 
see the teams, many of them consisting of four horses, as they 
<lrew up around the scene of our labors. They had come from 
Spoon river, from AVethersfield, fr(jm Lafixyetteand Walnut creek, 
"to help the doctor move." 

We could give you the names of tiie drivers — true pioneers ev- 
ery one of them, not a laggartl among them all ; but our i-eaders 
would not know them, for they have nearly all taken a longer 
journey since that time, from which they never returned. But fin- 



2U STAKK COUNTY 

ally the last load started, even Peter Miner's laugh was lost in 
the lengthening distance, and silence settled upon the hill, where 
for five years there had been a busy hapi)y home, ringing with 
the voices of children, and the patter of little feet. But we look- 
ed our farewells to the spot, and not without tears set our faces in 
another direction. 

We were soon on the open prairie, and towards evening reach- 
ed our destination, the house of Mr. Benjamin Turner, Mho in 
those days kept a sort of hotel for the accommodation of the pub- 
lic. The cabin had undergone a second " raising," the roof was 
j)artly on and we could say and feel wehadalreadj' a home in Tou- 
lon. But that first home long since passed into disuse; audits 
successor, with its old fashioned belongings, and quaint surround- 
ings, endeared by long years of association, hallowe^d by so ma- 
ny christenings, weddings and funerals, has at length been torn 
assiuider and lost its identity. True, a better house has been rear- 
ed upon its ruins, and this is an age of progress. Yet for some of 
us the old house had charms we can never transfer to the new ! 
But wherefore dwell on these things. The old doctor looks calm- 
ly on, and accepts the inevitable like a true philosopher. He has 
a home in the house of his son, jokes with his gray-haired boys 
and girls, and laughs with his twenty-one grand-children, sings, 

" No foot of land do I possess, 
No cottage in the wilderness, 
A poor u':iyfaring man,^^ 

in a tone that shows he does not grieve over the situation a bit. 
His wonderful memory, which he still retains uninipaired, is of 
more value to him than a garnished palace would be. It is 
crowded with all things fair, like the Poet's 

MAGICAL ISL,E. 

" Tliere^sa Magical Me up the ricer of Time 
Where the softest of airs are playing ; 
There's a cloudless sky, and a troiiical clime 
And a song as siceet as a vesper chime 
And the Junes, with the roses are staying. 

^' And the name of this Isle is Long Ago, 

And we bury our treasures there ; 

There are brows of beauty and bosoms of snow — 



t 



AXD ITS PIONEERS. 245 

There are heap^ of diotf — Cut ire loved them so ! 
There are trinla'ts, and treases of hair. 

'■'■There are fragments of song, that nobody sings, 
And a part ejf an infants prayer ; 
There'' s a lute unsirept, and a harp without strings, 
There are broken bows, a?id pieces of rings, 
And the garments she used to wear. 

'•''There are Jiand.s th(d are wared, when the fairy shore 
By the mirage is lifted in air; 
And we sometimes hear, through the turbident roar 
iSweet voices toe heard in the days gone before, 
WJten the iri/ul doim the river is fair I 

'■'■Oh ! remembered for aye be the blessed Isle 
All the day of life, till night — 
When the evening comes with it\s beautiful smile 
And our eyes are closing to slumber awhile, 
May that Greenwood of soul be in sighf.''^ 

Thus our father g-rows old— not without his weal^nesses aiid in- 
firniities, l)ut gently and kindly as a child, and can he but go to 
his grave, followed by the respect of his neighbors, and the bless- 
ings of the poor, his heart will be fully satisfied, and trust God 
for the rest. 

Then, he says, theold settlersof Stark county thatsurvive him, 
may write his epitai»h. 



246 STARK COUNTY 



TUENBUl.L AXD OLIVER FAMILIES. 

Soon after w? had coneludecl to sheaf these gleanings of local 
history into a volnme for pnblication, we paid a visit to this most 
interesting neighborhood, with the intention of interviewing 
John TnrnbuU, sen., if possible, as he stands in the relation of 
I)atriarch to the clans of " Bonnie Scots " who till the broad acres 
stretching over almost a township. And if he had deliberately 
'"sat for his picture" he could not have taken a better position 
than he occupied that blustering October morning, 1874. 

He had evidently just Pome in from looking after something- 
on the farm, had taken his seat before a wide old-fashioned fire- 
place in which a clieerful fire was burning. His hat or plaid, had 
not yet been hiid aside, the latter enveloped his broad shoulders 
in those easy folds that none but a Scotchman can fashion. By his 
side and at his feet crouched two beautiful shepherd dogs, wliich 
sprang up all alert at the entrance of a stanger, but a word from 
their master subdued them, and as he rose and turned toward us 
a face fresh and florid yet, after the battles of near seventy win- 
ters, and eyes beaming with intelligence not unmixed Mith hu- 
mor, we pronounced him a representative Scotchman from "top 
to toe." 

Quickly recognizing the daughter of an old friend he greeted us 
cordially, and gratified us highly by giving in substance the fol- 
lowing account of their emigration to America and subsequent ex- 
periences. 

We believe these families, the Turnbulls and Olivers, of which 
particular mention will l)e made in this sketch, were of " Low- 
land" birth and lineage, although for sometime previous to their 
emigration, had dwelt in the "Highlands," following the occu- 
})ation of shepherds. 

The Turnbulls were from Roxburghshire, on the southern bor- 
der of Scotland. And our informant sailed for ^Vmerica with his 
aged mother, his wife, and her father's family, June 17th, 1837 ; ar- 
riving at Quebec after six weeks at sea, journeyed up the St. 




AND ITS PIONEERS. 247 

La\vrenc-e, then across the country to Niag'ara Falls, thence to 
Bufialo, found the only imssenger boat at the wharf under arrest, 
so got on board an old schooner bound for Chicago. So slow was 
their progress that the packet, released from durance two weeks 
after they left port, passed them on the route. AMule wandering 
among the flats of lake 8t. Clair, the otticers used to cut the huge 
canes or reeds with which they abounded, and used then^ for 
sounding rods, to determine the depth of Avater, which in some 
places was so shallow as to make navigation both difficult and 
dangerous. Sometimes as their sluggish craft crept by a low isl- 
and, the men would wade ashore in quest of discoveries, and 
once they found a few potatoes growing and some vines, like 
nothing they had ever seen before, bearing gigantic fruit of wiiich 
they longed to taste, their curiosity naturally being excited touch- 
ing overytlung American. 

As there was no sigji of human habitation on the island, and 
their fare upon the schooner was very poor, the honest Scotchmen 
thought it could be no mortal sin to help themselves. So in ad- 
ditioh to a few new potatoes, each man carried under his plaid an 
immense green pumpkin. Arriving with their booty on the deck 
of tlie boat, the emigrants (piickly collected to try the flavor of 
the new fruit. 

The scene must have iK'cn intensely amusing to tlie boat crew 
who watched it out of the corners of tlieir eyes and laughed most 
provokingly at the disappohitment and disgust expressed by the 
emigrants at the u[>shot of their morning's adventure. 

When at length Chicago was reached, they found it a lov/ sandy 
flat, with here and there a cheap dwelling (n- warehouse, and 
thought the Americans nnist be very short of land on which to 
build towns, when they would attempt to make one on such a f 
place as that. From Chicago they soon made their way to .Joliet 
drawn thither by the tidings of a canal in process of construction, 
which would pretty certaiidy aflford ^\•ork for the men, of \\hich 
they were sorely in need, for by this time their slender resources 
were about exhausted. 

At Joliet they found two vacant cabins ; the neighbors told them 
to " move right in," which they thankfully did. Everybody was 
kind to them, one man lent them a scythe which enabled them to 
cut the ))rairie grass growing so luxuriantly about them. This 
gave them clean beds, and with it they tilled the crevices in their 
half-flnished huts. Soon each family bought a cow from a drover 
who i)asse(l that way, and as they must be kept tied to a stake to 



2-lS STAKK COUNTY 

pivvcnt thoni straying- ]i()})ek'ssly, the frcsli cut I a ; was iiulis- 
pcnsible. 

Of course these people were lookint>- for, hind to enter, every- 
l)ody was in those days, and they fell in with a 3ventncki;tn 
named Parker, who had a patent on the (piarter afterwards own- 
ed by IVIyrtle G. Brace, on the state road ; but the man supposed 
his li^nd lay near ^^\yomin<^■, and so agreed Mith Mr. Turnbuli to 
meet him there ; " thought they could prol>al>ly strike a trade." 

Parker left Joliet on horseback, INIr. TurnlnUl on foot, to make 
their way over a trackless expanse of snow, and A\ith i)ut a very 
indefinite idea of where they were to meet, i»ut it ^\"as to lie some- 
where in the neighborhood of Wyoming. 

This journey was undertaken January 1st, ls;5S. Occasionally 
Mr. Turnbuli could catch glimi)ses of t!ie horseman as he rodo 
over some high ridge in the distance, and this was all he had to 
guide his steps, save a general idea of the points of tlie compass. 
After this lonely, tiresome tramp of sixty or seventy weary miles, 
he found himself at the house of General Thomas, but only to 
learn that the land he was in quest of lay some ten or twelve 
jniles to the north-west, the Kentuckian being mistaken as to its 
locality. 

He must then retrace his steps. Upon reaching Mr. Ilolgate's, 
hunger and fatigue compelled him to seek rest and food, and such 
comforts were never denied a stranger there, and besides Mr. Hol- 
gate had learned by some means that Parker had gone to the Os- 
ceola settlement, so Mr. Turnbuli was again ui)on his trail, and 
found him ere nightfall at the cabin of 3Ir. William Parks, theii 
in Osceola grove, as old settlers will remember, not far from 
where the first school house in the tovvnshi[) was built, on the 
road to Spoon river liridge. 

^ While resting by the wide fire-place built of rough stones in the 
jambs of which a recess had been constructed, capable of holding 
a few common books, curiosity prompted the traveler to withdraw 
one from its place, that he might see what kind of books the peo- 
ple raid in tliis strang3 country, still h9 was wonderhyg all tlie 
time if it was not a piece of impertinence to do so without per- 
mission. But Avhat was his surprise, his delight even, upon find- 
ing beheld in his hands a well worn copy of Burns ! Strong 
though he was, and capable of bearing all things without mur- 
muring, still he could not n^frain from tears as his eye traced the 
familiar Scottish lines, and he thought how fur, f(tr away he was 
from his native liills, from the " I^anks and braes o' Bonnie 
Doon," yet the jioetry of Burns was here before him ! for 



AXD IT.S PIOXEERS. 249 

" The ir'ttJe imrUl is /Y.s Piuplrp 
A)i(l ifs ihroni' ihv lieai't o/ man.'''' 

Mr. Tiirnbull did not ])iiy tlio title of tlie Kcntut-kian, after all 
]iif^ truul)le, having a dread of patent.s, and complications of which 
lie heard many sad reports ; but shortly after purchased from the 
Lyle l)rothers, John and Thomas, forty acres in Osceola grove, 
with a cabin thereon, with the understanding that if the Oliver 
family saw tit to come on, the Lyles should sell them ftn'ty acres 
more. 

Jle then trudged leisurely back to .Joliet, got his wife and An- 
drew Oliver, rigged out an ox sled, to ^\'hich they yoked a couple 
of half-t)roken steers, and about the middle of February starterl 
for Dorr's, whose house stood near M'here the town of I*rovidence 
now is. The weather continued to grow colder, the wind to 1)Iow 
more and more fiercely, and glad were the wanderers to find shel- 
ter for the night, with the hospital)le family referred to. In the 
morning the sun came \x\) Hanked l)y "dogs " on either side, the 
snow crunched and S(iueaked under the feet with the peculiar 
sound, every backwoodsman knows as indicative of extreme 
cold, the therniometor indicated scnne twenty degrees below zero. 
]Mrs. iJorr clearly comprehending the suffering and danger that 
must attend a journey that day, kindly urged them to remain un- 
til the storm a!)ated, saying "she would board them very cheap- 
ly." But they had no money to pay Ijoard Ijills be they ever so 
small, and the inborn pride of their race, forbade their " being Ije- 
holden " to any one, so there was but the other alternative to 
push ahead. 

Mrs. Dorr was standing in her cabin door silentlj' watching the 
preparations for departure going forward ; but when all was ready^ 
l>laids folded tightly, Scotch caps tied tirmly, sled drawn round 
to the door, steers awaiting the word of command to start, she ex- 
claimed with tears in her eyes, "men go if you will but for God's 
sake leave this woman with me; slie will surely perish in the cold 
to-day. It shall cost you nothing, and when the weather moder- 
ates you can return for her." But Mrs. TurnbuU preferred at all 
hazards to share the ftite of her husband and brother. A\'e fancy 
such pluck would be hard to freeze ; at any rate, despite all obsta- 
cles they arrived intact at Seeley's point before bed time, stiff and 
hungry doubtless, but such ills were curable by a good fire and 
supper, which were (juickly at their disposal, and they retired to 
rest with grateful hearts. 

The next morning was still very cold, but they had a sheltered 



250 STAUK cor XT Y 

route through the woods by the old road that formerly led by the 
house of Calvin Winslow in the timber, south of AVilliam Hall's 
place, which they passed about noon, February 14th, 1838. ^oon 
after they reached home, as they called the cabin of the Lyle 
brothers a little farther on. 

They prc^mptly paid for the first forty acres, which contained 
the cabin, Init as by arrangement the Lyles were to remain with 
them until they could obtain possession of the Dukes farm, which 
they had bought, and the rest of the Oliver family coming from 
Joliet, the four families consisting of eight Lyles and thirteen 
Turnbulls and Olivers, contrived to live till spring opened, in one 
room, and that one 16x18 feet. That they succeeded in doing this 
harmoniously, so that the survivors can now look back through 
the mists of nearly forty years, and make merry over the experi- 
ences of that first winter in Osceola, is creditable to all concerned. 

Several of that original twenty-one, have passed to their Fa- 
ther's house above, " where the many mansions are," and others 
have so heartily obeyed a scriptural injunction recorded in Genesis, 
first chapter and twenty-eighth verse, that their posterity can be 
counted by scores, if not by hundreds. But we must recur for 
a few moments to the life that opened up before those pioneers in 
1888 — a life so full of hardships and privations that it V\'6uld appall 
the hardiest adventurer now-a-days. 

The money, veritable gold and silver, so carefully hoarded to 
buy a home, was now expended. They had among them eighty 
acres of timber land, a cabin, and but little else. They had neith- 
er vegetaliles, meat nor bread, except corn which had to stand in 
lieu of all these. For weeks they split rails all day long, with no 
food save boiled corn, which they carried with them in a tin pail, 
and f(n' drink they broke the ice of a little stream and dipi)ed up 
the water from beneath. .Vt night the old black cow supplied 
them milk to eat with their corn, and this was their best meal,, 
for as Mr. TurnbuU says, they then had time to eat all they want- 
ed, a luxury they did not allow themselves at morning or noon, 
for as he (|uietly remarked "it took a man so long to eat corn 
enough to satisfy his a[)petite," and they nmst work ; that they 
retained health and strength to do so on such tare, is probably 
owing to the fact that from childhood they had been accustomed 
to a coarse or plain diet. 3[ilitary men recognize this as one rea- 
son why the Sccjtcli make the l)est campaigners in the world, they 
«ay while soldiers addicted to the pleasures of the' table, pine 
away and die, under seige or on protracted marches, the hardy 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 251 

Scot Avith his bag of oat meal and canteen of \\'ater, thrives and is 
contented. 

But our Scotchmen had not even tlie oat meal, and corn and 
cold water did not make such a nutritious compound. 

But spring-, though delaying long as is her wont with us, came 
at last, and seeds were sown in hope, and summer gave them of 
her abundance, and they were thankful. 

In the fall they bought a hog from the Sturms, and when a 
rasher of bacon was added to their hominy, thought tliemselves 
well off. Such was the humble beginning of the famous 

SCOTCH SETTLEMENT IN ELMIRA TOWNSHIP. 

It was soon a magnet that drew many an emigrant from " tho 
land o' cakes " to try his fortunes on the prairies, but it can hard- 
ly be supposed any met with quite the hardships that faced the 
first corners. Their neighborhood has always baen r.^markable 
for its thrift and independence in thought and action, for its sim- 
ple old-fashioned morality and religious observances, and latter- 
ly for its wealth, culture and liberality. 

We hoped to lay before our readers exact facts and figures, sta- 
tiisiics to prove what these people have accomplished in less than 
forty years, but among those so sensitive with regard to what 
might be called "blowing their own trumpet," these are very 
ditiicult to obtain, thus we have to unwillingly betake ourselves 
to generalities. But although there lias been from the fir^t a num- 
ber of American families located among them, yet the history of 
Elmira township is really the history of these Scotch people. To 
them mainly belong its farms, its schools and its churches. In 
our general history of the religious organizations of Stark county, 
it will be seen that the Turnbull and Oliver families formed an 
important element in the first Presbyterian church formed here 
which was at Osceola grove, in is;5ii. After their removal to their 
prairie farms west of Spoon river, this organization gradually 
fell into decay, but in their new location sprang up in the course 
of a few years four ehurches, all having convenient houses of wor- 
ship. These are the Methodist Episcopal, (\yhich is probably 
supported by Americans) Cumberland Presbyterian, United Pres- 
byterian, and Knox church, all of Elmira. If we are correctly 
informed, the last three are i)rincipally Scotch. And although 
OJie can hardly believe the old feud between highlanders and low- 
landers to have crossed the Atlantic and established itself on our 
levels, yet the difference in the names on these church rolls is no- 



2")2 STAKK COUXTV 

tk'eably curious, ami ^^■'oul(l indicate tliat the currents of feeling 
still choose separate channels. In the United Presljyterian, you 
find the " Borderers " the lowland names. Here are the Turn- 
bulls, the Olivers, the Marrays, the Grieves and the Armstrongs 
over and over again. But turn to Knox church and you get 
names with the highland ring, ]Mcl)onald, ]McKae, INIurchison, 
Pinlayson and McLennan. And this is said to Ije the only place 
in the United States where religious worship is conducted in the 
Gaelic language. 

Here they still sing the Psalms of David as their fathers sang 
them among their native hills, and listen to services of three or 
four hours duration, without growing weary. 

In the early history of our county the politics of this settle- 
ment was decidedly anti-aljolition. Frazer, a Presbyterian min- 
ister of pro-slavery proclivities, from Knox county, used to 
2:)reach among the Scotch a good deal, and many thought he gave 
them this bias ; however that might be they early ranked as 
whigs, and " Henderson men," which meant about the same 
tiling in the phraseology of those days. But our supplementary'^ 
tables will show they have been wont to roll up big republican 
majorities of late years, supporting Lincoln, and the emancipa- 
tion proclamation en inasse. They seem always to have had a lik- 
ing for the name of Henderson, which liking has been transmit- 
ted from generation to generation, with the name — supporting 
T. J. Henderson in 1864-(JG as enthusiastically as in 1839 or 1840, 
they had his father. This political faith seems to have l)een shar- 
ed by their native l)orn neighbors, as the names of 3[yrtle (f . 
Brace and numerous meinbers of the Fuller family, are usually 
seen side by side with that of John Turnbull in the political pro- 
ceedings of by-gone years. 

And when their patriotism had to be tried by the ten-rible ordeal 
^)f battle, they did not shrink from duty ; witness the fine array of 
names in our soldier's record, credited to Elmira township. We 
know we are unprepared to do justice to this quiet nook, and to 
the strong characters that compose the bulk of its citizens. If 
through imperfect knowledge we have erred in statement, we beg 
pardon in advance, and will only add in conclusion, that a stran- 
ger visiting our county, will nowhere within its limits, find a 
warmer welcome, or gain more favorable impressions of its re- 
sources than in this Scotch settlement in Elmira township. 



AXD ITS PIOXEEKP. 253 



THK STl'IOI.^. 

This is a very large family. The writer had no convenient 
means of ascertaining how many of this name inhabited, and 
still do inhabit 8tark county. One branch of this genealogical tree 
seems to have taken root on LaSalle Prairie, Peoria county, at 
an early day. From there (we think) came Lewis Sturms, am- 
ong the first names mentioned in our annals, but who must have 
left again after a few years. 

In September, 1834, came Matthias Sturms, or as he was famil- 
iarly called "Uncle Tias;" with him, from the stateof Ohio came 
his wife and ten children, one son-in-law, Kirkpatrick, and one 
•daughter-in-law, the wife of my informant, Heury Sturms. 

Of these children of Matthias, we can record but little, save 
their names. The sons as we recall them, were Henry, Nicholas, 
Samuel, Matthias and Simon. His daughters became Mrs. l\irk- 
patrick and Mrs. Peter Pratt. 

Henry jnarried a ]Miss Osborne, whose family also became resi- 
dents of the Sturms settlement, and her father was noted among 
the first settlers as a successfid bee hunter. 

We have elsewhere had occasion to speak of the characteristics 
of this Sturms family ; their very numbers rendered them of im- 
portance in a new county, and as we remember them in their 
l>rime; they were all stalwart, active men, of rough exterior but 
kind at heart. 

At the date of our visit to Henry, now an old man, we found 
liim greatly changed. He is in straightened circumstances, and 
this misfortune is heightened by the loss of sight. Confinement 
to the house in consequence of his blindness, has robbed him of 
his early vigor, and he seemed sadly depressed in spirit,s, assert- 
ing that "he knew nothing that could be of use to anyone." Put 
as we strove to divert his thoughts from the sad realities of the 
present, to recollections of the past "when he was as well off" as 
]iis neighbors," memory seemed to awake once more, and he dis- 
coursed freely of the "good old times." 



251 STARK COUNTY 

He spoke of the encampincnt of Indians at WalnutgToveniiich 
as Mr. Seeley liad done; thought "he and his wife had seen iive 
luindred pass their door in a single day ; they were not afraid, 
liad been used to Indians in Oliio, and tliese Pottawatoniies were 
friendly to the wiiites." lie told us of liunting adventures with- 
out end, thinks he has killed deer at all hours from sundown to 
to sunrise, averaging, at a good season of the year, thirty a week. 
" He knew their licks," and climbing a tree convenient to them, 
Avait-ed their approach and shot them from his perch. "He would 
then tie them to the tail of his horse with ropes carried for the 
l)urpose, and haul them home." 

Has dragged in three at a time in this way. To the youthful 
reader, this may sound lil^e a very improbable tale; our horses 
would certainly object to such proceedings. IJut the Sturms were 
not the only men wdio V)rought th^ir game home in this fashion, 
iis plenty of witnesses yet living can testify. They say it requir- 
tnl the knack of an experienced hunter to do it successfully, "there 
"vvas a great deal in knowing just how to tie them on." Henry 
Sturms further said that one Sunday morning some thirty years 
ago, as he and a cousin were walking along the bluffs of iSpoon ri- 
ver, he spied in the water a slightly wounded buck ; he immedi- 
iitely si)rang upon his l)ack, jumi)ing from an elevation of about 
ten feet, and seizing the animal by the horns " ducked him " till 
lie was exhausted and breathless, falling an easy prey on the 
bank. 

They considered it "bad luck" to carry Are arms on Sunday, and 
•on this occasion had in their i>ossession no weapon larger than a 
pen knife, so proceeded with great care and deliberation to dis- 
patch the poor beast with that ; and finally the two men dragged 
Iiim home (btit a short distance) in triumph. 

These anecdotes will suffice to show something of the life they 
lived, and the metal of which they were matle. 

This man is among those who think the undergrowth or thick- 
ets with which our woods now abound are of (piite recent growth. 
He is sure all in the vicinity of Osceola grove, have sprung up 
since his time. Grapes, plums and crab-apples, he says were ve- 
ry scarce when he first saw the Sjioon river county, but wild 
strawberries were abundant. 

It is curious that u})on a m.itter so simple as tliis, diiferent 
opinions should exist, some old settlers protesting that when they 
first saw these groves they were entirely clear of undergrowth, 
others, as confidently asserting the opposite state of facts. 

Mr. Sturms remembers that in his early hunting excursions he 



AND ITS PIOXEER?!. 255 

fi'equently came upon tlie remain^; of Iniffalo, think:^ they hart 
onee ranged through these parts in larg-e lierds, but had perished 
during- "tlie winter of tlie deep snow," an era we can not date 
just now, but it occurred some ten or twelve years before tlie set- 
tlement of the Spoon river country. 

Our informant recalls several valleys containing acres of land 
literally covered with the Ijones of these animals ; one of these 
lying- between his own place and that of Mr. .Searles, in Osceola 
townshi}). He described particularly the peculiar construction of 
the shoulder bones, which produce the distinctive hump of this 
species of buffalo, and we conclude he must have gatherc'd his 
facts from the observation of the remains, as it is not supposable 
he ever consulted books for such information. 

He concludes the buffalo sheltered from the fierceness of the 
storm in these narrow wooded valleys, but the s)iow which fell to 
a depth of four feet on the level prairie, would drift up those gor- 
ges and down the hills, and actually bury them alive, and as the 
intense cold soon crusted it over, there would be no escape from 
starvation. That the deer perished in a similar manner, about 
the same time, is a fact well established, and in this connection it 
may not be inappropriate to remark that elk bones were also 
found by the early settlers. Dr. Hall remembers a huge skeleton 
of this animal that lay on the high prairie towards Providence, 
and served as a "land mark" for years — its bones glittering in 
the sunlight, could be seen for miles. So Mr. Sturms' theories are 
not without collateral support. 

Besides the large family of Matthias, senior, there was another 
Henry Sturms, brother of the former, whose children for the 
most i)art are residents of Stark county. Of this family we have 
even less knowledge. Peter, a local preacher of the Methodist 
faith, antl a well to do farmer lives not far from Bradford in a lo- 
cality known by the suggestive, but not euphonious appellation of 
"Hell street." Possibly his philanthropy led him there, that he 
might beseech of his neighbors to choose better ways. In conclu- 
sion we may say of these families, that although they have never 
been prominent in politiees or claimed "high places in the syna- 
gogues," yet they have been by no means wanting- in religious 
fervor. 

The cabin of "Uncle Tias" was one of the first meeting places 
of the Methodist fraternity, and the Sturms' school house was re- 
markable for displays of "the power" and enthusiasm generally, 
that would astonish the most ardent advocate of camp meeting- 
excitement, now-a-days. 



2.'>G STARK COUNTY 

But the present generation, tlie Sturms oi' to-day, is iiuiteanoth- 
er being to tlie Sturms of forty years ago. They are losing- the char- 
acteristics of -backwoodsiTien, or frontiersmen, and growing just 
like their neighbors. 

In fact, public schools, equal riglits, and Paris fashions are fast 
obliterating all differences among our western people, reducing 
them to a dead level, or as near tliat jis nature permits. This 
may be right and Ijest, but after all, we rather enjoy contemplat- 
ing the diversities in the genus homo, and can hanlly see how so- 
ciety would be the gainer by juaking people all just alike, if that 
were possible. 



SEELEY. 

Soon after we had entered on the task of collecting materials 
for this work we had opportunity for a conversation with Mr. 
Henry Seeley at Bradford, and gathered therefrom the following 
reminiscences of early days in that part of the county : 

3Ir. Seeley was born in Ontario county. New York, in 1S05, and 
so has already measured out his "three score years and ten," but 
at the date of this interview, was still hale and vigorous, in full 
possession of all his mental faculties. H^ has evidently enjoyed 
few educational advantages, but has naturally quick perceptions, 
and strong practical sense — a man of nerve and resolution, well 
adapted to pioneer life. 

When he was but eleven yeai's of age his father removed from 
Ontario, New York, to \^ermillion county, Indiana ; here in the 
"Hoosier State" he grew to manhood, and married in 1831. In 
1882, this young couple removed to Peoria county, Illinois, and 
in 1834, to what has ever since been known as "Seeley's Point," a 
beautiful grove, two and one-half miles from the present town of 
Bradford. By this, it will be seen that this man was among our 
very first settlers. General Thomas had not yet reached AVyom- 
ing, or jNIajor ]Moore, Osceola. Not a settlement had yet been 
made at what we now call Kewanee, or AVethersfield, or Provi- 
dence ! Boyd, at his grove, eight miles east of Bradford ^\'as one 
of the nearest neighbors, and the old bachelor Grant, had a little 
hut on what has long been the Ilolgate farm, Penn toA\nship. 
One cabin near the present village of Wyanet, was the only habi- 
tation between "Seeley's Point" and the AVinnebago Swamps. 



AND ITS PTOXEKP.S. 2^7 

It was in tlio sjn-inij;' of ls;U tliat ^h\ Seeley luiilt liis t'al)iii and 
o.stablished himself at the "Point." Iniring' the summers of 1S;U 
and IS.T), many adventurous travelers made their way here, look- 
inj4' for homes in this fertile region, and INlr. and Mrs. Seeley exer- 
cised with no sparing' hand tiie rouj^ii hut generous hospitality of 
those times. He says twenty persons at one time Iiave found 
food and shelter in the sin<;le room he owned and occupied. 

A portion of the tribe of Indians known as Pottawatomies still 
wintered re<i;'ularly at Walnut y-rove ; with these ]Mr. Seeley gene- 
rally continued to sustain friendly relations, and traded (piite ex- 
tensively with them at times; he understood their Iano'ua,U'e and 
could speak it lUiently M'hen in practice. l)urin<4' the lattt'r part 
of is;}."), when he was absent from home, attendin<>' to business in 
Peoria, an Indian came to his cabin, having with him a large 
bark bag or sack, which he wanted tilled with shelled corn, offer- 
ing therefor, a fifty cent silver piece — less than half its value at 
tiiat time. ]Mr. Seeley's father was the only man about the house, 
and being old and feeble, naturally shrank from having any al- 
tercation with the savage, so he prom[)tly complied with the de- 
mand, and the purchaser rode away on his pony, doubtless well 
l)lease(l with his success. 

Not many days had passed until he again presented himself at 
the cabin door, with a similar V)ag and a similar piece of money. 
This time Mr, Seeley was at home, and not having the fear of In- 
dians before his mind, said as plainly as he could that "unless 
Pottawatomie produced a bigger coin, viz : $1, he should not have 
the corn." He nuumtecl his pony emi)ty handed this time, and 
rode away very sullenly. The incident would sometimes recur 
to the settler's mind, lor well he knew the Indian would never 
forget him, or the atfnjut, until in some way the account was 
l)alanced. 

And it came about in this way. In the winter of 1M8{;-;17, when 
no w<n'k was going forward, Mr. Seeley proposed to a new neigh- 
bor (a Sturnis) to ride with him over to Walnut grove and see 
what the Indians were doing. 

Not faraway (i)robal)ly at IJulbona grove) there was a French 
trading post, where i)()wder and whiskey, and such like adjuncts 
of civilization could be obtained, and as Mr. Seeley and his friend 
appr(»ached the grove it was evident the Indians liad i)!enty of 
both. A truly hideous chorus of whoops and yells saluted their 
ears, interspersed at intervals with theshari) report of firearms, 
liut the men were well mounted and carried trusty rifles, so noth- 
ing daunted they rode forward toward the scene of excitement, 
17 



258 STAKK COUNTY 

and found as is usual among Indians on sucli " sprees," only one 
sober man in the whole encampment ; it would seem the redman 
is this much wiser than his "white brothers," thew always keep 
one sober to look after the safety of the rest! On this occasion, 
the S(iUiws were busy hiding- arms and weapons of all sorts, lest 
their drunken masters should do themselves or others serious in- 
jury. Soon a group of desiderate looking savages approached our 
horsemen, bearing among them a small keg or cask of liquor, 
veritable "fire-water," from whicli they drank by turns, without 
stint or measure. Tliey first invited Sturms to partake, which he 
thought best to do very si)aringly, the keg was raised to Seeley's 
saddle l)OW, who was prei)aring to folk)w the example of his 
friend, when, quick as the lightning's flash, an Indian sprang to 
his side, and snatching the precious keg, exclaimed in his own 
dialect, "mean white man, mean white man, he no have whiskey." 
Mr. Seeley, although startled for a moment, did not fail to recog- 
nize in the excited creature l)efore him, the baffled trader in corn. 

The coveted keg was swiftly borne into a neighboring thicket, 
followed by the howling savages. Mr. Seeley rode away, feeling 
satisfied that the fued was considered settled. 

This gentleman also tells many characteristic tales of the time 
Avhen he "hauled his crop to Chicago," and then sold his wheatat 
fifty cents per bushel, and other things in proi)ortion. Mr. "Wil- 
liam Moore, another old settler was often his companion on these 
trips. 

This Moore was what in common parlance is called ^^c/osrjisferl^^^ 
and the amusing dilennnas into which this niggardliness some- 
times led him, and his companions, furnish themes for many 
hearty laughs, even after the lapse of years. But as it is not so 
much fun as facts we are after, we merely record, on one of these 
expeditions that they traded their wheat for salt, a commodity so 
essential to the pioneer, yet sometimes difficult to ol)tain. This 
salt they sold for $8 per barrel, on Si)oon river, "Elijah McClenna- 
han paying ten bushels of as good winter wheat as he ever saw, 
foronebarrel of salt !" Frontiersman as Seeley was, and imused to 
the modern luxuries of "laid out roads," bridges, and guide posts, 
he knew how to steer his course by the sun, through the day ; by 
the stars through the night; and seldom lest "his bearings." 
But sometimes sun and stars would fail him, and when tlie snow 
lay deep over the trackless waste filling even the Indian trailc; to 
the level, he would become bewildered. 

pn one of these occasions wjien returning from the land office 
at Dixon (we believe,) he was relieved from suspense by blunder- 



A^TD ITS PIONEERS. 259 

ing- on the solitary cabin, referred to, near the present site of Wy- 
finet. Hastily dismounting-, he enquired of a woman \\ho an- 
swered his summons at the door, "tor the way to the head waters 
of Spoon river." The woman looked embarrassed for a moment^ 
"did not think she could direct liim there," but said, "li'om a rise 
of ground not far off he could see ' Seeley's Point' which she sup- 
posed might be in that region somewhere." He did n(jt say he 
was "the dweller at the point," but moulding' his weary horse 
struck out again across the })rairie and soon gaining- the ridge 
now known as Bunker's hill, was cheered by a glimpse of his 
own grove. There he has lived more than forty years, years too 
every one of them rich in results ; lived to see 

'"'■The wilderness rejoice and blossom as the rose,'''' 

his old hunting- grounds transformed into fruitful fields — markets 
brought to Ins doors, all the evidences of wealth and cultivation 
occupying the waste places of old; such have been tlie experien- 
ces common to Stark county pioneers. 

Mr. Seeley had a father and brother or l)rothers, also citizens of 
Stark county, from its organization. We often jneet with their 
names in studying the old records, but have no furtlier particulars 
of their lives to record. 

And the subject of this little notice, has paid the debt of nature 
since this work has been in progress. 

Very suddenly, we learn, he was called away ! Thus they go, 
these old men, these faces once so familiar! 

Soon another generation will possess the land and not an old 
settler be left to tell the story of the past— then sliall these simple 
mementos of our fathers acquire a value they possess not now. 



THOMAS wixx. 

Mr. Thomas Winn is another man who made his home here as 
early as the si)ring of 1k;54, being then a married man, and the 
father of, four sons, all of whom lived to be citizens of Stark coun- 
ty, one of them, Jefferson, serving- the county acceptably for a 
term of years in the capacity of circuit clerk. 

Mr. Winn was born in Virginia in 1801 ; his wife whose maidca 
name was Mary Anne Johnson, in 1798. 



200 STAKK couxrY 

They were married in Switzerland county, Indiana, 1^23. The 
M'inter of 1831 tliey spent at F(»rt Clark, now Peoria, and during- 
the two following years, fanned land near ^NEossville, on tlie Ill- 
inois river. His removal to Putnam county was brouglit about 
in the following manner : 

"While residing at Mossville he made the acquaintance of a 
Captain Jack, an eccentric English soldier, A\ho after distinguish- 
ing him-elf to some extent in the campaigns against Napoleon, 
concluded to bring- his family t(^ this new country, and betake 
himself to more peaceful pursuits. This man hired Mr. Winn 
and his two yoke of oxen, and another man by the name of Can- 
on, with a four-horse team, to take his family and effects from 
Mossville to Knoxville. They went by the way of Farmington, 
were tliree days making the journey, and had to camj) out at 
night. At Knoxville they found William P. Smith, from the 
Essex settlement, then a young man, but well taught in the lore 
of the woods and prairies; he was on horseback, and said he could 
pilot the teamsters back by a shorter rouie ; said "he could strike 
a bee line to Spoon river," which he did — they fording that 
stream near the present site of Rochester, reaching the Essex set- 
tlement in good time on the second day. Here they were kindly 
entertained by the Smiths, and Mr. Winn was so pleased with the 
locality, 'as to decide upon making it his future home. So in 
April, 1834, he purchased sixty or seventy acres of land near the 
farm of Mr. Josiah Moftttt, which included the site of the " old 
log fort," built it would seem but to conmiemorate the "Indian 
si'are" of 1832. For a short time his family lived within the 
" picketed " enclosure, but he subsequently put the logs to better 
use by splitting- them into rails. Mr. and Mrs. Winn are now 
growing feel)le with age, but their memory of past events is good ; 
they corroborate, in every particular, ^Nlr. Clifford's account of the 
building of our first school house, and say they think Adam Per- 
ry suggested and planned the enterprise. Mr. Winn was at its 
"raising;" says the neighbors came together early on the 4th of 
July, 1834, with their ox teams and axes, cut and hauled the logs 
from the woods around them, and some engaged in splitting- 
clapboards. By two o'clock P. M. they had it waist high, and a 
very heavy rain coming up, they arranged their clai)l)oards the 
best they could for shelter, and crawled in and " ate their fourth 
of July dinner, without toasts," but had a jolly good time, never 
to be forgotten by any of them. 

Mr. Winn remembers the time when the Indians cultivated 
their corn fields on Spoon river, just above Cox's mill, near the 



AXD ITS nOXEEllS. liGL 

iHoutli of Camping creek ; al.-so has .seen the reinains of their 
" council house " in their old vilUig-e near Mr. Mofflt's farm ; the 
outlines could be distinctly traced and the centre pole was still 
standing-; has also found the wooden troughs in which they en- 
closed their dead, sometimes hanging in trees. 



TilE EMKUVS. 

The Emerys are of German extraction, all of that name in this 
i^ountry, having prol)ably sprung from two l:trothers who emigra- 
ted to the eastern states prior to the revolutionary war. Their de- 
scendants spell their patronymic somewhat differently, as Emry, 
Ehiery, Emory, Init the resemblance is sutRcient to suggest a com- 
mon origin. 

Our informant thinks the posterity of one of these emigrants 
may yet be found principally in New England, si^elling their 
name with an o, while the other Conrad, gradualljaiiade his way 
from eastern to western Pennsylvania, living for a time in Miflin 
and Mercer counties, about the beginning of the i)resent century, 
and spelling his name always p]niery. 

These people, at least the western branch of the family, after 
being for several generations American born, still show traces of 
Teutonic blood. They are of the large athletic German type, fjiir 
iiaired, fresh complexioned, and of phlegmatic temperament. 
We fancy a little excitable irritable Emery would be a wonder in 
this land. 

So far as we know them, the men were and are thrifty, success- 
ful farmers, while here and there a love of art, particularly of 
jnusic, crops out, suggestive of the " German's Fatherland." 

The Conrad who was the immediate progenitor of our Stark 
county Emerys, removed from Mercer county, Pennsylvania, to 
Ohio, in 1817, and from there to Knox county, Illinois, in 1.S8-), 
his farm being in one of the townships drawn from Knox at the 
formation of this county, his first home being on what is now 
known as the south-west of north-west of section thirty-two, 
Goshen township, forming part of the present property of John 
Emery, Es<i., the youngest son of the family. 

At the date of this settlement, August <Sth, 1885, Conrad Emery 
and Sarah his wife, were the parents of eleven children, several 



262 STARK COUNTY 

of whom were already married ; there still remained at home 
three sons and two daughters. 

Of the two daughters, Mary married a man bj' the name of 
Swab, and 8arah, Elijah ^NlcClennahan, for many years a resident 
of Iowa, but still remembered by all our old settlers. 

Joseph an industrious and exemplar.y man, settled on the east 
half of north-west quarter, of section five, West Jersey township. 
He died suddenly, away from home, in 1856, leaving besides a 
widow and cliildren, a large circle of ac(iuaintances to mourn the 
loss of a good neighbor and friend. 

But probably Jacob is the most remarkable member of this 
group. Born in Miflin county, Pennsylvania, January KJth, 1803, 
he has already passed the bounds usually alloted to man. We 
may safely conclude that in his youth he shared no better educa- 
tional advantages than were common to the children of the work- 
ing men at that early day, perhaps never in his life having more 
than a winter's scliooling. But tlie absence of mental culture has 
in his case been i:)artly counterbalanced by native mental power, 
and financial abilities of no common order. He, too, located in 
1835, in what is now Goshen township, north-west quarter of sec- 
tion thirty-two, and despite his large family, long and frequent 
sickness, and frightful doctor's bills, was soon known among his 
neighbors as "forehanded." 

In 18i0-41, while most of our farmers were still struggling with 
debts and incumbrances, he had cleared his land and was building 
a fine barn, one of the first really good ones ever built in .Stark 
county, and in 1819, completed his elegant and commodious farm 
house. He did not Midas like, transmute all he touclied into 
gold, altliough he must have handled a good deal of that in the 
days of " specie payment," but by a similar necromancy it seem- 
ed that all the land he looked upon became his own, until more 
than a thousand acres owned his ^way — not inherited or patented, 
but earned by the hard hand of toil in the space of fourteen 
years ! 

And prosperity did not unduly elate him ; he remained an un- 
assuming jjlain man, enjoying good fortune sensibly ; relaxing 
somewhat the toilsome habits of earlier years, he read and 
traveled, studied men and things, bestowing upon his younger 
children the cultivation that circumstances had denied the older 
ones. In youth he was a zealous ^Methodist, in middle age a clasn 
leader, but of late years has embraced the spiritualistic philosophy 
with all its intangible theories. This is not the place to discuss 
the pros and eons of these widely divergent faiths, or to conject- 



AXD ITS riOXEERS. 203 

lire why it is so niuny start on life's sea with one set of oi)inions 
nailed to the mast, and drift to the opposite extreme before the 
voyage is done. But that these changes are going on in our little 
\rorld, as surely as in the greater one of which we form a part, is 
indisputable. 

Human nature is everywhere an unsolved mystery, and few 
men in this comnumity scan its depths with a more kind and yet 
careful scrutiny, than Jacob Emery. 

The irreverent may sneer, the thoughtless laugh at his conclu- 
sions, but he pities and forgives! There is no room in all his 
great heart for malice or sectarian bitterness, but a broad philan- 
throi>y, a just toleration, a gentle charity, make there an abiding 
place. Looking fearlessly into a future, he wisely makes the 
most of the present life, gathers about him congenial spirits, 
whether " in the body or out of the body " seems immaterial, for 
to his consciousness it is literally true, that 

" The veil of flesh fhaf hid 

Is siyf'tlu draini aside, 
More clearly he beholds Uieni. iifjir 

TJkiii those u:h<) never diedy 



>-♦•- 




JAMKS JjrSWELL. 

The subject of this sketch was born at Peach am, in Caledonia 
county, Vermont, August 7th, 1798, and was the son of Nicholas 
and Elizabeth Buswell, /?«:: Cham])er!ain. On his mother's side, 
he was also descended from the Mellens, a name noted in tlie ear- 
ly annals of New England, as was that of (Jhamberlain. The 
place of his birth was, at that time, a comparatively new country, 
liaving a few years previously been settled by emigrants from the 
more southe rly portion of the New England states. Strong, ro- 
bust and hardy, they penetrated the wilderness of the nortli, and 
made themselves homes. 

Such even now would be considered a perilous undertaking, liut 
like their native hills, these men were firm and steadfast, and 
overcame all obstacles. 

lleared in such a country, where to enjoy life was to bend all 
the faculties bodily and mental to secure such result, it is no won- 

\T O cJi Save. "VK^ C OTdTN rr\ OT^ uJeo-lr^ Or Ccna-vvCCT ><!•-•- 



2(U STAKK COUXTY 

der that wc find Mr. Jjuswell capn'ok' ol" i)r('akin;^' away froiii the 
parent nost, and with a few associates of sinuUir mould, seekinj^- 
H home in the far west, whicli, at that time mi^^-ht well be eallrd 
"an unknown region." 

Thus we find him leaving his native home in is;]2, unaeco)))]);;- 
nied by his family ; lie came to Illinois, visited several portions 
of the state, and finally settled for the time being at Peoria. 

Returninfrto Vermont in the autunm of 1S;}.3, tlie following 
year he bade it farewell forever, and with his family settled in 
Peoria, where he resided until 18.']7. Having in the meantime^ 
selected a site for a home in Osceola, he removed there during the 
summer of that year, where he continued to reside until the date 
of his death in 1874. 

The education he liad received on his native hills, peculiarly 
qualified him to overcome the hardshi])s and vicissitudes that 
awaited him in his new home, and right jnanfully did he wage 
the battle of life and secure to himself and family a peaceful re- 
treat, where in his declining years, together with the honond 
partner of his joys and sorrows, he might retire in peace to ejijoy 
the fruit of years of toil. 

In early life he received an academic education, thorough, for 
that day, which laid a good foundation for future study. Ever 
fond of books, reading was with him a daily exercise, even dur- 
ing the years of active lift'. II(> kept himself well informed on 
all matters of religion and i)olitics, and measurably of science. 
Possessed of a strong and eipially poised mind, he was capable of 
grasping and comprehending almost any subject that claimed his 
attention. And, he was an inde})endent thinker. His opinions 
were his own, and he cared not whether others endorsed them or 
not. He never j^roselyted, it was enough that his own nund 
was convinced. 

In religion, he was lil>eral, conservative, if you please, but al- 
ways reverential. A strong sense of right was one of the noljlest 
ti'aits of his character, and against tiiis, negro slavery clashed 
sorely. 

Therefore, he became early in life itsunrelenting foe. Here, there 
was no conservatism, but he "carried the war into Africa" and 
fought it to the end. And happily lived to see the curse removed ; 
— 1SG;> In'ought a proud triumph to the band of heroes, who for 
more than forty years, had "bearded tlu^ lion in his den," had 
fought against all odds, hoped against all hope, endured misrep- 
resentation and persecution, and harder than all. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 265 

'''•TJh'J'ouI and /n'ssi/if/ /,o/f of sconi.'''' 

Probably no man more licartily rejoiced in the final triumph of 
ri.uht, and alxjlishmcnt of shivery, than the subject of this me- 
moir." 

Then he was the most unassuming;- of men ; altliouj^'h an ardent 
l)oIitician, never seeking- distinction or preferment for himself, 
consenting- to act as "justice of tlie peace " merely to accommo- 
date his neig'hliors, among- whom he was almost an oracle on all 
neighborhood matters, his wise decisions settling many disputes 
that might otherwise have been fanned into destructive flames. 

Thus he pursued "the even tenor of his May," until the 2d day 
of August, 1S74, having entered the eighty-first year of his age, 
he died as calmly and peacefully as he had lived. 

Thus far, this sketch is but slightly altered from one that ap- 
peared in the local papers, at the time of Mr. Buswell's death, 
and is i)rol)ably as full and concise an account of the principal 
efents of his life as we can obtain. And yet we feel it is too mea- 
ger for one \vho filled so large a place, for so long a time in thei)0- 
litical life of our county. 

Xo mention is made of the large family of gifted sons and 
daughters who are his rich legacy to the land of hisadoption,and 
only a passing- allusion to the heroic woman, who for more that 
fifty years cheerfully shared all the vicissitudes of his lot, who by 
lier nol)le presence coukl dignify the humblest liome, as she 
would have graced the the proudest mansion ; yet, in the minds 
of the old settlers, these recollections are inseparably associated 
with the name of Buswell. Some can yet recall the "cabin in the 
g-rove," when father, mother and ten children gathered around its 
rough but hosi)itable 1)oard, and there Mas always room and wel- 
come for the stranger to(j. 

That group has long since scattered. Three went before their 
father to the "undiscovered country," falling- while the rich prom- 
ises of youth hung- thick about them, others remain to perpetu- 
ate his name and virtues, and perchance furnish themes "whereby 
some future historian may seek to garnish the fame of "little \ 
Stark." 



20G STARK COUNTY 



THE BUTLER FAMILY. 

In sketching persons or landscajDes, it is obviously easier to 
make a striking picture if the lines are broken or irregular ; here 
a depression, there an exaltation, or elevation ; the more abrupt 
the contrast, the better for scenic effect. Thus, the painter choos- 
es for his canvass the towering mountain, the beetkng crag, oi' 
rushing cataract ; anything rather than the gentle undulations of 
fertile grounds, watered only by placid sti-eams. But, does it 
then follow that the crag and torrent are of more value to human- 
ity than the productive plain with its fertilizing currents? If 
not, then in the group of sketches here introduced, if the reader 
finds nothing sensational, no traces of erratic genius, no wonder- 
ful developments of precoL-ious learning or piety, resulting in pre- 
mature death ; no "stranded ^\■recks" to give variety to the scene 
or pathos to tiie narrative ; but, lives in the main, well ordered, 
rounded to a beautiful completeness, devoted to quiet pursuits, 
and the practice of domestic virtues, let him not therefore pro- 
nounce them wholly uninteresting. 

Captain Henry Butler and Rebecca his wife, were born in New 
Haven, Connecticut, before the close of the last century, and 
were both of good New England stock, 

.lustus Butler, father of the captain, was a famous hotel keeper 
of that city. Throughout the region from whence Tale Colh^ge 
draws its students, and New Haven its maritime and commercial 
importance, he reigned in his day, as "i^rince of landlords." 

Mrs. Butler sprang from a race of printers. The first of her 
lineage in this country, was one Samuel Green, printer, at Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts. Prol)ably from his press, and under his 
supervision was issued the first edition of the sacred scriptures in 
the Indian tongue. Next in order came his son Samuel Green, 
bred to his father's trade, as we believe. 

Third, Timothy Green of New London, i)ublic printer to the 
state of Connecticut. Fourth, Samuel Green, editor of " The 
Connecticut Jmirnal," files of which are still preserved in the- 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 2GT 

family in Illinois. Fifth, Mrs. llel)ecea Butler, a Stark county 
l)ioneer, who together with her husl)and and eight children emi- 
grated hither in 1835 ; and, as seemed befitting such a pedigree, 
her twin boys, Samuel CI. and AVilliani H. Butler, were early ini- 
tiated into the mysteries of the printer's guild. 

It would seem that Captain, then Mr. Butler, also essayed to 
follow in the footsteps of his father for a time, and won an envia- 
ble reputation as "mine host," for in the earlier part of his mar- 
ried life he received an invitation from the then Mayor of Rich- 
mond Virginia, to take charge of the "Union Hotel," a new house 
just built in that city, and which was to admit of no superior at 
the South. What the exact date of the removal from New Hav- 
en to Richmond was, we have no means of knowing, but con- 
clude it was prior to 1824 as during this year, Lafayette paid hi^ 
last visit to our shores, and was a guest " at the Union." How- 
ever, the subject of this sketch undertook the task of keeping a 
first class hotel, whether it paid or not ; he had a reputation to 
sustain, aikl was not to be outdone in the richness of his furnish- 
ing, the costliness of the interior decorations of his house, or the 
luxury of its cuisine. But as is often the case, such ek^gance was 
not remunerative financially. And it is probable the landlord of 
"The Union," quitted Richmond no richer for the expensive ex- 
l^eriment. Still he had had a varied experience, a rare opportun- 
ity to form acquaintance with many of the leading men of hi.s. 
times (and "there were giants in those days") which was of itself 
an education of the most desirable sort, and no doubt helped to 
make him what he afterwards remained, a most agreeable enter- 
tainer ; presiding over his own home and at his own table with 
an easy dignity; dispensing therefrom an abounding hospitality. 

After leaving the hotel, Mr. Butler turned his attention to ship- 
ping and commercial matters generally, for which he had a deci- 
ded predilection, always declaring, that, but for his mother's ap- 
peals he should have "followed the sea" from his youth. 

Being so congenial to his tastes, he had contrived to acquii'e 
considerable nautical knowledge, both theoretical and practical, 
and continued to turn it to account in his occupations during the 
remainder of his stay in Richmond, and afterwards in New 
York, to which city he subsequently removed with his family. 
In this business he won his title of "captain," by which he was so 
well known to the early settlers of Stark county ; sometimes ac- 
ting as supercargo, sometimes chartering vessels on his own ac- 
count, making trips to various ports, and once, on a return voy- 



2G8 STARK COUXTV 

age from Liverpool, succeeded in bringing a wrecked vessel into 
port. 

He continued thus occupied, either " ui>on ship or shore " for 
sonie years, at a business to whicli lie was devotedly attached, 
and, but for his emigration to Illinois, would i)ro]jal)ly have con- 
tinued in it to the end of his days. 

]iut by this time, his older sons had grown to manhood, and 
one of them at least had purcliased lands in the " military tract." 
just then becoming a fashionable speculation with eastern capit- 
alists. 

This investment was naturally made the sulyect of conversa- 
tion at the family table and fireside. All sorts of opinions were 
rife regarding the prospects of this then vinpeopled region, but 
the prevailing one just then was that Illinois was an earthly par- 
adise, both as regards beauty of scenery and salubrity of climate; 
and that it contained in the singular fertility of its soil, the ele- 
ments of wealth in a larger degree than any other place in the 
known world. 

Current newspaper ai'ticles and " Peck's Gazetteer of Illinois," 
were purchased and read with avidity, and of course helped fos- 
ter these opinions; and finally a 3Ir. Bogardus, one of Peoria's 
jjioneer lawyers returned to Xew York, and visiting the Butlers, 
took care by his glowing accounts of the west, to stimulate any 
latent desire they might have to emigrate in that direction. 

They had also another ac(iuintance already here, Elias K.Kane, 
a member of the convention which formed the first constitution 
of our state ; and very probably his letters helped confirm the 
impressions already made. However this may have been, it 
came to pass th^t Captain Butler left New York in .June, ls8o, 
with a view to locating somewhere in the neighborhood of Peo- 
ria, at which place he arrived in due time, but finally pushed his 
way to AVyoming, then having only "a name to live," at which 
point he immediately set about preparing a shelter for his fami- 
ly, they following him in the fall, by the lakes to Chicago, and 
from thence by teams to the "Spoon river country." 

One of them but recently remarked that he has " always regar- 
ded this emigration more as a romantic adventure, than anything 
else; if indeed it did not deserve to be ranked as a foolhardy un- 
dertaking." 

Leaving as they did a competence and comfortable quarters in 
the city, with jjleasant surroundings and congenial associations, 
was certainly a strange freak on the part of those who had about 
as much comprehension of western life and the means of making 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 2GD 

a livin<i- hero, as the retreating- aborigines had of the advantages 
of civilization, lint if the change conld not be sanctioned by 
sound Jndgnient, all affected by it, had some of the characteristics 
e^^sential to such an undertaking, viz : pluck, a loveof adventure^ 
and a philosoph'ical determination to accept, without complain- 
ing, the situation, with whatever it might Itring. Thus e(pupi)ed 
they embarked in high spirits, Mrs. Butler, three sons and tive 
daughters from New York, and when arriving at Buffalo, went on 
))oard the old brig, "(Ju<?(^ii Charlotte," which had been a Mar 
vessel, and one of Perry's captures. The voyage across the lakes 
was an eventful one, as most voyages were in those days, being 
ample time during their progress for events to transpire. 

The Butlers were four weeks between Buffalo and Chicago. 
While on lake Erie, in the morning twilight, a steamer struck 
the old brig, carrying away her "bowsprit" and "cut- water:" 
compelling them to remain at Detroit for repairs. Then they 
were aground just a week upon the flats of St. Clair, and detained 
again at the mouth of 8t. Clair river, and had, as they say, "a 
stormy old time " on lake Huron. But after all, as they were 
naturally good sailors, the journey was pronounced "hugely en- 
joyable," and they will very probably laugh to the end of their 
lives, at recollections of incidents on board the "Queen Charlotte." 
Thus, "to the end of the chapter," whatever was hardest to en- 
dure was most laughed at, until they declared themselves "at 
home" in the hewed "double-log house " on the prairie, near 
AVyoming. f 

General Thomas, Whitney Smith, and Samuel Seeley had cab- 
ins skirting the timber, but "the captain was the pioneer builder 
out on the prairie." Of course ail professed to be delighted with 
the location, but no words can give an idea of its extreme loneli- 
ness to eyes accustomed to the solid blocks of a great commercial 
city. 

There was then no other house in the direction of the traveled 
/road to Peoria, till you reached "Mount ITawley," which skirted 
the Illinois river timl)er ; and eastward, none between them and 
Camping grove. Still the beautiful unobstructed view across an 
undulating sea of verdure, flecked here and there with jjrilliant 
Howers, was worthy an artist's pencil. 

And the boys and girls lived merrily, and the " old .folks" at 
least contentedly, aniid their novel surroundings ; and in the 
course of time the log house was superseded by a substantial brick 
structure, still referred toiis the "Butler homestead." And what a 
large place that homestead filled, not only in tlie regard of the 



270 STARK COUNTY* 

A^arious family groui)S of which it was so long the common cen- 
tre, but in the social life of the neighborhood, how many 
"grand times" and "good times" at Captain Butler's, could yet be 
recounted by those who will never more see such times anywhere! 

But ere we give vent to the reflections that here come surging 
$it memory's beck, it is meet we complete the sketch of Captain 
and JNIrs. Butler, for in our gallery of portraits of Stark county 
pioneers, they are surely entitled to full length pictures. 

Many of the characteristics of the former, may be inferred from 
Avhat has already been said, and after he became one of us, it was 
in the domestic and social circle he was best known and apprecia- 
ted. The superintendence of his farm occupied his time, and he 
neither sought or cared for political distinction. Still he had his 
own opinions and defended them warmly, could make a stump 
speech (in behalf of others always) when occasion demanded it, 
was an "old line whig," and of course Henry Clay was his mod- 
el of a statesman. A pei'sonal acquaintance in earlier life had 
t)ut served to enhance his admiration of this man. 

In faith, he was ever an Episcopalian, an adherent of Bishop 
•Chase, who frefpiently visited him at Wyoming, sometimes per- 
forming service at his house. 

Indeed if we mistake not, St. Luke's church was formed there, 
as it was cherished and supjiorted for many years mainly by this 
family. 

Said one who knew him well, "it was a debatable question 
which he thought the most of, the Episcopal church religiously, 
or the whig party politically, as embodiments of all that was per- 
fect, humanly speaking, of their peculiar principles." 

He was fre(iOently called upon to preside at political meetings, 
which he did with considerable ijarliamentary ability, and to 
make after dinner speeches on festive occasions. He was promi- 
nent in the " ^^'ashingtonian movement " at an early day, and 
made many warm appeals in behalf of reform ; was an active 
member of the first agricultural society, and a charter member of 
the first masonic lodge in our county. 

It is simple justice to say he was a kind neighbor and good cit- 
izen. That he was a good hater too, when stung by wrong or in- 
gratitude, is very likely ; such positive characters usually are ; that 
he had other faults or foibles is more than probable, as they are 
the dross of our common humanity. But as the miner when he 
sti'ikes a rich lead of gold, gathers his treasure, paying small heed 
to the refuse that may attach itself to it, so we, when there is so 
much fine gold, care not to measure the alloy. We love to recall 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 271 

Captain Butler as the whole-souled, genial y'entlenian he was, as 
our father's friend, and our cnvn, and hope ^\•e may leave a pleas- 
ant, as it will be truthful, impression of him upon our reader's 
mind. 

His last days were clouded by chronic ailings, but his mind re- 
mained clear, and lie enjoyed his books and friends to the last. 
He went peacefully to his rest, August 2nd, 18G4, aged seventy- 
live years. 

Mrs. Butler survived her husband but little over one year. 
And her character was precisely of the kind hinted at in the in- 
troduction to these sketches ; if you attempt to analyze it you lose 
the effect ; its beautiful completeness was its greatest charm. She 
was emphatically "a keeper at home," quiet and undemonstrat- 
ive everywhere, but it was the repose of conscious strength, not 
an expression of weakness. 

Her numerous family as they grew to years of understanding 
fully recognized the fact that she was "the power behind the 
throne." Not that this power was obtrusive or offensive, but she 
knew how to touch the hidden springs, to draw "the silken 
cords," that move and guide imperceptibly. And, as a result 
could, in her later years look down the long line of sons and 
daughters, and with a satisfaction but rarely accorded to mothers, 
.say, "not one has disappointed me." Her religious life was in 
harmony with all other developments of character, a quiet stream 
but deep; her children best knew its force. They say, "from our 
earliest childhood she taught us the priceless value of Christianity 
as a source of happiness, both in this life and that which is to 
come." Heartily believing what she taught, she went cheerfully 
to her reward, after enduring a long and painful illness. She 
ptassed away November 30th, 1865 ; and the old home was deso- 
late ! 

In our world it must be, that night follows day, and clouds the 
sunshine, and by the same law it would seem, after christenings 
and marriages, and merry makings, come funerals and teai's, and 
"the sad drapery of woe." Such is human life, and it must be 
the part of wisdom to accept calmly the inevitable. 

To the present generation, the children of Captain and Mrs. But- 
ler, we wish briefly to advert. Not l)ecause we can tell the peo- 
ple of Stark county anything specially new or sensational with 
regard to those who have for the most part dwelt so long among 
us ; but because they deserve to stand here as elsewh n'e, a unit- 
ed family. Their names in the order of their ages are, Lucy, 
George, Samuel and Henry, Rebecca, Mary, Charles, Abby, Eliz- 



272 STARK COUNTY 

abeth, Albert, Vir<i-iiiia and Henrietta. Just a round dozen ; of 
these, Al»by died in infancy, but up to the date of this i)resent 
writing, September, 1S7G, the eleven form a band unbroken 
through tlie vicissitudes of so many changeful years. 

Lucy and her widowed sister, (INIrs. Thomas) still make a home 
at Wyoming, as does also their brother Henry, all too well known 
to f)ur readers to require more than a mention, to call them viv- 
idly to mind, and so sensitive^ to anything like notoriety, as to 
ni.ike a m)re audieious pen than ours pause and withhold the 
tribute it longs to pay. 

Samuel has for some vears resided in Fremont countv, Iowa. 
Rebecca is the wife of Hon. Oaks Turner, of Hennepin, Illinois. 
Elizal)eth the wife of .John \V. Henderson, Esci., now of Cedar 
liapids, Iowa, but early and long a Stark county man, 

Albert, the youngest brother, spent hisyouth at Wyoming, and 
here married Miss Kate Atherton, daughter of J. II. Atherton, 
Esq., but some years since, returned to his old home in New 
York city, where he entered into business and has since remained. 

Virginia, a beautiful woman, the family pet and favorite, was 
by an accident in her childhood, deprived of her hearing, but was 
fortunate enough to become a pupil of the (iallaudets, distinguish- 
ed as being the first successful educators of deaf mutes. And, so 
well did she profit by the opportunities afforded her that among- 
her familiar friends her affliction is hardly noticed, so completely 
have her eyes an<l fingers learned to do double duty. Since the 
death of her parents, Virginia has made her home with her 
youngest sister, Mrs. General Henderson of Princeton, Illinois. 

Two brothers, George and Charles, have never left their eastern 
homes. The former was for many years a sort of Lord Chancel- 
lor in A. T. Stewart's great mercantile establishment; that is, he 
carried th^ seals and the keys of this merchant prince, who we 
are informed was by marriage connected with the Butlers. 

Charles, the last to be noticed of this kindred group, we learn is 
a member of a large and prominent law firm in New York, of 
which Evarts, so distinguished for his defence of H. AV. Beecher, 
is the leader. Thus it can be comprehended that these children, 

" Whose voices mingled as fheij prajjed 
Around 0}ie parenVs knee,^^ 

in by-gone days, are now widely scattered and diversely occui)ie(l. 
Still they occasionally meet and enjoy a re-union, and though all 
are remarkably well preservec}, none of them can any longer be 



A N I ) I Ts p K )x I-: K IIS. _ / :> 

culled youii.u'. As ono of tlicir luinibor said of their lust re-union^ 
" what a jolly set of old folks we were, all of us 'j;ra\ headed, and 
wearing' <i!asses, but all well and apparently hajjpy, and as full of 
life and fun as twenty yeai's ago." Not many families eun mukc^ 
sueh u record, for be it remembered the youn^'est of this j>roup is 
well u}> in the forties, und the eldest — well we will not make a 
iiuess, for nuthino- in her manner or ai»})earance would indicate 
she was over fifty. 

The children of these people, tlie grand-children of Captain and 
IMrs. liutler, we are iKtt i)rei)are(l to number, but they wcadd 
make a goodly showing if we could. Indeed, api)lying to this 
family one of Darwin's fundamental laws, "the survival of tlie 
fittest," one may safely i)redict the Butler blood will make itself 
known through generations yet unborn — when this page and the 
liand that traced it, will be among the forgotten things of a sliad- 
owy past. 



(JEXEUAfi Tir()."\rAS J. UKXDERSOX. 

"The Spoon river country" or Stark county, have nurtured and 
developed few men, if any, who have enlisted so lurge a share of 
])ublic attention and affection, for so long a time as the subject of 
this notice. Therefore, we hope to gratify a majority of our read- 
ers by considering, even imperfectly for a short time, his several 
roles of citizen, politiciaii aiul soldier, in all of whicli he has been 
conspicuous. 

Thomas J. Henderson was born near the town of Brownsville, 
Hay ward county, Tennessee, on the^Oth day of November, 1824, 
c()use((uently is now almost fifty-two years of age. I>ut as he 
walks the halls of congress, this centennial year of the republic, 
any observ^er would pronounce him many years younger. His 
form is still erect, his hair of raven blackness ; in his beard only, 
a few silver threads show the touch of time. 

When he was twelve years old his parents removed from Ten- 
n.essee to Illinois, settling tlirectly in what was then Putnam 
county, about one mile south of the present town of Toulon. 
Previous to this change, Thomas had received the elements of an 
education at an academy in his native town, and subse<iuently 
enjoyed only such a<lvantages as could be reaped in the rude log 
IS 



117i STARK COUNTY 

school houses that graced tlie iroutier settlements, with the single 
exception of one term in the Iowa University, after his father re- 
moved to the state of Iowa, in the autumn of 184o. In 1841), he 
was married to Henrietta, youngest daughter of Cai)tain Butler 
of Wyoming. 

General Henderson often expresses i-egret that the circumstan- 
ces of his youth did not permit him more thorough mental train- 
ing, but his friends recall with pride the fact, that he has ne^'er 
yet been found unequal to any position he has been called upon 
to fill, or compared unfavorably with the distinguislu'd men 
among whom he has served. The drill imposed upon liimself, 
when, while yet in his teens, he assayed to become a teacher, was 
doubtless serviceable to him, in familiarizing him with the 
groundwork of learning, and imparting to him that self-reliance 
and self-control, so essential to success in life. 

Thus, while still a mere boy, he taught at Centerville in Knox 
county, at Cold Brook in Warren county, at the Finley school 
house in "West Jersey township in Stark county, and afterwards 
^it the " Prior cabin" and " old brick " in Toulon. 

It must have been durijig the winter of 18-14 and 1845, that his 
elder brother, John W. Henderson, engtiged to take charge of a 
school in the "Prior cabin," wdiich school was composed, not on- 
ly of most of the children, but all the young folks of the neigh- 
borhood. And it is a niatter of anuising reminiscence to those 
who were young folks then, to recall the uproarious fun that went 
forward, despite the earnest efforts of J. W. to preserve order and 
.secure attention to study. But when T. J. walked into the school 
room to con:iplete the unexpired term for his brother, how quiet- 
ly they yielded to his sway and how naturally order seemed to 
grow out of chaos under his calm direction. 

These schools were regarded merely as stej^ping stones over 
wliich he must pass to tlie attainment of what he most desired, 
viz : the study of law, and a thorough training for that profession. 
In easy "chit-chat" vvith familiar friends. General Henderson is 
still wont to resent the opprobrium of being called an " olfice 
seeker" and laughingly says, "no amount of flattery could lead 
him to conclude tliat he was ever cut (nit for a soldier, but he did 
at one time hope to make himself a good lawyer." However, as 
he thinks, his way to professional distinction has been hedged up 
by many and peculiar obstacles. In other words his ends have 
been shaped bj^ a destiny too strong for his contr(j!. 

In the first place he was poor, and must in some way earn his 
daily bread. His many personal friends realized this fact, and 




AND ITS l'IOXEI<:US. 275 

seeing in him ('apa))ilities for something better than the drudgery 
of the school room, urged him to acce])t an office, hoping thereby 
to aid him in acquiring a profession. 

Wliat young man would not be flattered by such manifestations 
of preference? lie was grateful for their suffrages, and accepted 
the result, but at tlie same time regretted that pecuniary consid- 
erations compelled him to do so, rather than pursue liis studies. 
Under these circumstances he was elected "county comi^ission- 
ers' clerk" in 1847, and re-elected in 1849, after the office was 
changed to clerk of the county court. This he held till 1853, 
when he entered upon the practice of his profession, being also 
master in chancery for Htark county. But he had given good 
satisfaction in the positions already filled, and was growing in 
favor with his party, wliich had in reserve fresh honors for him. 
So in 1854, he w^as elected to the state legislature from Peoria 
and Stark counties, and his record as a legislator, only served to^ 
raise him higlier and higher in the esteem of his constituents. 
Accordingly, in 185<3, he was elected to the state senate from the 
counties of Stark, Knox, Warren, Mercer, Henry and Rock Isl- 
and, and served for four years. 

Mr. Henderson, we believe, was the junior member of that bo- 
dy during his incumbency, being tlien but tliirty-two years of age, 
and he served with such men as N. B. Judd, B. C (!o(jk, W. C. 
Goudy, and others of lilve ilk ;*and in this field earned the rejnita- 
tion of being an able debater and skillful parliamentarian, and it 
was generally conceded that " he did tlie state some service " in 
the discussion of important questions, bearing on public interests. 
Still tliere are those who seek to brand this man as " a chronic of- 
fice seeker," and assert that he has almost forced himself upon 
his party as a candidate, on different occasions, even referring to 
this very election to the senate as a bit of successful strategy on 
his part ; so, in the interests of truth and justice, as we have the 
facts at hand, we shall give them, believiiig that after the lapse of 
.so many years it may be interesting to Stark coimty readers 
to review them, and that they show th.is charge to be without 
foundation, at least in 1856. 

The republican county convention met in Toulon that year, to 
select delegates to the senatorial convention to be holdon at Ke- 
wan(»e. It was organized by selecting Mr. Henderson as its pres- 
ident. In the course of proceedings before the convention, Mr. 
Calvin Eastman proposed by a resolution, that the delegates they 
should choose, be instructed to vote at Kewanee for Mr. 1 lender- 
son, and nse all honorable means to secure his nomination. Mr. 



27G STARK COUNTY 

Henderson at once responded, in t^ubstance, " that if the propo- 
sition was intended as a conii>linient, lie oratefully accepted it as 
such, but plead I'.is poverty and long cherished desire to enter more 
earnestly upon the duties of his profession ; said he had but just 
closed a term of service in the house of representatives, at an ex- 
]>ense to himself, and he should absolutely decline a nomination 
to the senate, if that were tendered him." And although it is tt 
matter of fact that can be placed beyond dispute, that he could 
have been nominated at Kevvanee had he desired it, he steadfastly 
adhered to his resolution and declined, saying " he must look to 
the practiceof his profession, as a support for himself andfamily." 

Judge Pleasants of Rock Island county, very unexpectedly 
to himself, received the nomination just as the convention hastily 
adjourned to take the departing train. Mr. Pleasants, however, 
remained to attend a political meeting, and upon a realization of 
his nomination, the thought suggested itself that he was not elig- 
ible to the office, from the fact that he had not lived in the state 
tiie length of time recjuired by law. 

An examination of the constitution in the office of Judge Howe 
confirmed his suspicions, and he then published a card stating 
this fact, and, as he had been president of the convention that so 
unexpectedly nominated him, he exercised the prerogative of re- 
questing the same delegates to meet at Monmouth, in Warren 
county, and nominate another camlidate. The time being short, 
only part of the delegates reached Monmouth; they agi-eed on 
Mr. H. C. Harding of that place, he being in fact the only regu- 
lar candidate before the Kewanee convention. There being ho^^■- 
ever, strong opposition to Mr. Plarding, which had manifested it- 
self in Kewanee also, the delegates present got into a row, those 
opposed to him, declaring that no sufficient notice of the meeting- 
had been given, and that even if there had been, the power of 
the delegates was exhausted, when the first convention met, nom- 
inated a candidate, and adjourned sine die I A compromise was 
finally agreed upon and a new convention called to meet in 
Galesburg, when, greatly to his surprise, Mr. Henderson was 
nominated. 

The fact that he was not present either in this or the preceding 
convention, would indicate that he was not courting the nomina- 
tion. In reference to it he thus expressed himself in a letter to a 
friend. After speaking of tlie reasons that influenced him to pre- 
fer i)rofessional to })olitical life, he said, " I think my old friends, 
uncle Johny TurnbuU and Honorable Myrtle ii. Brace arc respon- 
sible for my nomination, and I coidd not decline, as it would not 



AND ITS rrOXEKUS. 277 

do to call a fourth convt'ntion, so I roally .must accept the situa- 
tion." And in this spirit he entered the canvass which resulted 
in his election to the state senate, in ISoO. But General Hender- 
son has had his defeats as well as his triunijjhs in i)olitical strife, 
and some brief allusion to both, must justly form part of this nar- 
rative. Of the former the most notable as well as the most pain- 
ful, because of the misunderstandings, and misrepresentations to 
which it gave rise, was in connection M'ith the "Lovejoy cam- 
paign " in 18G2. 

But to understand the circumstances that led to that nomina- 
tion and its results, we must in some measure recall the history of 
those days. 

General Henderson had, from boyhood, carried the bamiers and 
subscribed to the jninciples of the old whig- party, and had held 
office by its suffrages, still a careful observation of the political 
horoscope, had made him from the birth of the new party, an ar- 
<lent republican. 

But the time soon came, when it M'as evident the preservation 
of the federal union, and the fulfillment of our destinies as a na- 
tion, must depend upon the cruel arbitrament of war. Then it 
Avas suggested to his mind, and to others not less patriotic and de- 
"^erving of mention, that parties with their bickerings and divi- 
sions, should be laid aside, in order that the friends of the union, 
by a closer affiliation, should present an undivided front to its 
foes. Such a policy seemed to be dictated alike by patriotism, 
and common sense. 

Accoi'dingly, at the outbreak of hostilities, a mass meeting of 
the citizens of Stark county was held at the county seat, and this 
agreement to forswear party for country, was enthusiastically rat- 
ified, both bj^ democrats and republicans. General Henderson 
addressed this meeting with more than his usual fervor, urging 
unity of sentiment and action at the north, as necessary to the 
})reservation of the government, and declaring that whatever 
others might do, he should adhere to the agreement — which he 
did, with undeviating consistency, redeeming every pledge he 
gave — but unfortunately, others took a different course, and out of 
their want of fidelity, grew difficulties and complications not an- 
ticipated, when the agreement was made. 

However, next in the order of events. General Henderson and 
Benjamin F. AVilliams, the latter a rising young lawyer of dem- 
ocratic proclivities, by official arrangement, addressed the jieo- 
ple of each school district, upon the great topics of the day, and 
it is a matter of fact that there was, throughout the county, a 



278 STARK COUNTY 

general acquiescence in the sentiments uttered by these two men ; 
and of history, that their efforts contributed in a g-reat degree to 
the splendid volunteer contribution of Stark county, to the war. 
Mr. Henderson had been named in connection with a nomina- 
tion for congress, prior to these events, and had received a com- 
plimentary vote from the convention that nominated .Judge Kel- 
logg in 1860. So when many personal and political friends in 
Stark and Henry counties, desired him to be a candidate in 1862, 
he consented, with the proviso, that he must be nominated as " a 
union candidate." But all this was prior to his enlistment in the 
army. After tliat, he resigned all thought of political preferment, 
at least imtil his term of service should expire, and gave his 
friends to understand, that he was going to the front with his 
regiment, and should not consent to anything that would inter- 
fere with his duties there. Now we are aware while we pen 
these lines, how easy it will be for the malignant to brand them 
with lalsehood, but our equanimity will not be disturbed there- 
by, 'for "we know whereof we affirm," and trutli never fears in- 
vestigation. 

And it is true that he was the nominee of the convention that 
met in Princeton, October, 1862; a convention composed of repub- 
licans and democrats, both favoring a union ticket, and it is true 
that this contest ended in his defeat, and the election of Mr. Love- 
joy to congress from the fifth district. 

About this tiine the Emancipation Proclamation was under dis- 
cussion, much bitterness was evinced, old party animosities and 
enthusiasms were awakened, and many forgot their recent prom- 
ises to forego all for the sake of country. So through the weak- 
ness of friends and the malice of foes. General Henderson was 
placed in a false light before the community— as were many good 
men who supported him ; as indeed, were all patriotic democrats 
at that time. Of all his opponents, though the most interested, 
Mr.Lovejoy was the most fair and dispassionate ; even during the 
heat of the canvass alluding to him courteously, and speaking in 
commendation of his services in the field. He also met General 
Henderson with friendly greetings after his return from the war, 
and finally wrote a letter to a prominent citizen of Stark county, 
requesting that the fact that Henderson liad been a candidate for 
office in opposition to him, should not be used to the detriment of 
that gentleman in the future. Such a man was Ow^en Lovejoy. 
Yet so unreasoning is political hatred, that time was, when this 
man could hardly be heard in Stark county, without apprehension 
of a mob. 



Axn ITS rioxEi<;R«. 279 

Another of the defeats of General Henderson, Avas in the con- 
test for t!ie nomination to congress, with Mr. E. C. fngersoU, in 
1870, bnt as tliis strngg'le involved little l>eside i)ontical strategy^ 
and that of a most contemptible sort, we conclnde failure was a 
greater compliment than success, and so, in the light of its remo- 
ter conse(|uences, the friends of General Henderson have come to 
regard this matter. But, ere we leave this political record we 
nuist turn the other side of the picture again to the reader's gaze 
for a mojiient, for in 1871, we find President Grant appointed 
(Jeneral Henderson United States Collector of internal revenue,, 
for the fifth collection district of Illinois. This office he held for 
two years, during- which time he collected nine millions of dollars 
lor the government. In 18G8, he was chosen one of the presiden- 
tial electors for the state at large, and in 1874, a member of the 
44th congress of the United States, for a term of two years, (the 
active duties of which term have not expired,) completing thii'ty 
years of public life for General Henderson, and we learn from the 
papers that a recent republican convention convened in Geneseo, 
has nominated him by acclamation, for re-election in 1870, from 
the sixth congressional district. Tluis it would seem his old tim(^ 
popularity has not forsaken him. 

We believe this to be a true but bare outline of liis career as a 
pi>litician u}) to tliis present time, and we now wish to review his 
record as a soldier, beginning with the enlistment in September, 
18G2, and continuing un.til the cessation of hostilities in 18Go. It 
was well known to his familiar frieiids, that his convictions of 
duty urged him int(» the service, at the first outbreak of the war, 
but important business affecting others' interests beside his own, 
for a time demanded his attention here; as soon as that could be 
arranged, he began his i>i'eparations to leave his family and carry 
out his purpose of volunteering — not, as we believe, having the 
least idea of serving as colonel of a regiment. But as he was re- 
cruiting a company, his aspirations may have reached a captain- 
cy ; however, hardly had he started in this work, when he was 
elected by the proposed officers, colonel of a proposed regiment, 
which became in course of time known as the 112th regiment ot 
Illinois infantry. That he shrank from the responsibilities 
this rank entailed, and plead his ignorance of military matters, 
and his inexperience on the field, there is indisputable evidence, 
even when Governor Yates was proffering him the appointment, 
but when elected to the position, he accepted it, and took com- 
mand of his regiment when it was nuistered into service Septem- 



280 BTAKK COU.NTY 

ber 22n(l, 1SG2, and remained with it till the close of the war. lie 
served in the campaigns of (ieorgia and Tennessee in 18(54, wn.s 
severely wounded at the battle of Ilesaca, ]May Utli, 1S()4, was fa- 
vored with a short respite in consequence, and uijon liis return to 
the field the following- July, the 8d brigade, oOth division, 23d ar- 
my corps was organized, and })laced under his command, and so 
continued until the close of the war. 

We here insert a copy of Gieneral Henderson's cojumission, part- 
ly because of some unjust criticisms, or rather mendacious re- 
marks, in reference thereto, Init })rincipally because it is our pur- 
pose that the statement of a fact in this connection shall be veri- 
fied by official evidence of its truthfulness : 

[official.] 

"To all who sliall see these presents, (Greeting :— Know ye, tlmt 
" I do hereby confer on Thomas J. Hknjjersox, of the L^nited 
" States Volunteers in the service of the United States, by and 
" with the advice and consent of the Senate, the rank of Briga- 
" dier General, by Brevet, in said service, to rank as such from 
" the thirtieth day of November, in the year of our I^ord, one 
" thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, for gallant and merit- 
" orious service during the late campaigns in Georgia and Ten- 
"iiessee, and especially at the battle of Franklin, Tennessee. 
"(Signed) by the President, Andjiew Johnson. 

" Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 
" Recorded Volume four, page thirteenth, Adjutant General's of- 
"fice, April Gth, l.SGo." 

Having continued in the service until the close of the war, 
(Jeneral Henderson was ordered to take command of his regiment 
and conduct it home, which he did during the summer of 18()-), 
])ut before leaving the brigade he ^v'as the recipient of the follow- 
ing tribute, v.-hich speaks for itself: 

"TlUiU'TE TO GENERAL HENDERSON. 

"At a meeting of the officers of the 17th regiment of Massachu- 
setts infantry volunteers, of which Lieutenant Colonel Henry 
Splaine, was chosen President, and Adjutant J. W. Stuart, Seci-e-^ 
tary, the following resolutions expressive of the feelings of the 
regiment, on })arting with Brevet Brigadier (Tcneral Thomas.!, 
ilenderson, commanding 8(1 brigade, 3d division, 23d army cor[)s,. 
were unanimously adopted : 



AND ITS noXEERS. 281 

"Resolved, That in takin<i- tliis method of l(iddin<>: farewell to 
our general, we are actuated solely l»y a desire to say something' 
more than could well be said verbally, for it is sometimes emi)ar- 
rassing to tell a man to his face what you think of him. Likes 
and dislikes of men fonned by soldiers in the field are always 
based upon a shrewd estimate of character. 

" Officers who are defended on their ' straps ' alone, for the title 
of gentleman, seldom deceive even the least observant, into re- 
si)ect for aught but their military rank ; while those on whom 
nature has set her insignia of rank, are respected and loved by all, 
and it is on the shoulders of such men that the ' star' derives ad- 
ditional lustre from the character of the wearer, and exacts uni- 
versal homage. Nature and the government co-operated admira- 
bly in making a general of Thomas J. Henderson ; for a finer 
combination of the officer and gentleman, it has not been our for- 
tune to be associated with, in three and a half years service in the 
field. Although rejoicing tliat our country no longer needs his 
services, we part from him in sorrow, and beg to assure him that 
we shall carry the remembrance of his manly virtues, the digni- 
fied urbanity of his dei)()rtment, and the immistakable evidences 
of his military talent, to our eastern home, and when in years to 
c<)me, we speak of Sherman and Schofield, the name of Hender- 
son cannot be forgotten. 

" Resolved, That a coi)y of these resolutions, signed liy the of- 
ficers present, be sent to the general, and that the proceedings 
of the meeting be sent for pu1>lication to the lialeigh Standard. 
June 1!), 180;"). 

(Signed) Hp:xkv Splaine, Lieutenant Colonel, 

"And all the officers of the regiment, Greensboro, North Caro- 
lina." 

The unfounded and virulent attacks made upon the military 
standing of (iLUicral Henderson, during the contest with Inger- 
soU in 1870, called forth many letters from his companions in 
arms, of wiiich tlie following from JNIajor General Cox is a sam- 
ple, and we shall give but the one in conclusion of this part of our 
sketch : 

"Uepakt^iext of tup: IxteuioPv. ] 

" Washington, D. C, July oth, 1870. i" 
"My Dear Majok: — Yours of the 2!)th ultim<i is received, 
and in reply I am happy to say that there can be but one opinion 
amon^- all those who served with our friend, T. J. Henderson. A 



282 STARK COUNTY 

braver, more intelligent, or conscientious officer of his grade was 
not to be found in the army. Pie distinguished himself wherev- 
er lie served, and the patriotism and disinterestedness of his ser- 
vice was such as to endear him to all his commanding officers. 
There is no officer in Illinois, concerning whom disparaging criti- 
cism could have less foundation, or be more surprising to any 
who were intimate with the career and the history of her soldiers 
during the war. Always hopeful, always prompt, always coura- 
geous, a most loyal subordinate, and a most able and devoted 
leader, General Henderson's reputation ought to be dear, not on- 
ly to his comrades, but to the people of the state and the country. 
"In haste, very truly yours, J. D. Cox. 

"Major T. T. Dow, Davenport, Iowa." 

Shortly after his return from the south, General Henderson con - 
chided to leave Stark county, and remove to Princeton, Bureau 
county, thinking the latter afforded a better field for the practice 
of his in'ofession, to which he was anxious to return. 

A congenial partnership was formed with Mr. Joseph L. Tay- 
lor of Princeton, wliicli continued until General Henderson en- 
tered upon the duties of the collector's office, in fSTl ; at the close 
of his two years' service in this department, he entered into 
partnership with Mr. Harvey 31. Trimble, with whom he is still 
associated in professional business. 

Perhaps it may not be out of place, even in this local publica- 
tion to venture on a short summary of the cliaracteristics of a 
man who for so many years belonged to Stark county, and has 
stood thus prominently before the people for more than a quarter 
of a century. Whence the secret of his wondrous popularity? 
For that he has enjoyed, and still enjoys a wondrous popularity, 
it would be folly to deny. 

His warmest admirers have never claimed for him any tran- 
scendent mental gifts, and yet they have never had to blush for 
him, when standing beside the ablest men of our day. He is 
not so much the great orator, as th^ graceful, persuasive si)eaker, 
and surely in this direction he has manifested uncommon versa- 
tility of talent. " Stumping it " through the country as he has 
done, the chosen leader of many a political campaign, holding 
forth i^erhaps in every school house in the county, responding to 
patriotic appeals, discussing topics of education and agriculture, 
making impromiDtu efforts on festive occasions and at social gath- 
erings, his war speeches at home and "at the front," ])rofessional 
pleiulings, and debates in the halls of legislation, together imply 



AND ITS riONEEKS. 283 

a capacity for work, ami a rwuly tact not common among" our pub- 
lic men. 

His more imi)ortant i)u))lic addresses during' tiiiics of excite- 
ment always commanded respectful attention for tlie candor and 
truthfulness that pervaded tliem. Especially is lu> courteous to 
an opponent, according to all the right to think and act for them- 
selves, sustaining his own position, or coml)atting an adversary 
l)y reason and argument, lathor than by passion and invective. 
After what has been published of the war record of General Hen- 
derson, perhaps it may seem superfluous to speak farther of his 
patriotism, or of his self-sacrificing devotion to duty. l?ut being* 
of southern blood and birth, and i)roliabIy at the conunencement 
of hostilities, somewhat tinctureil with southern prejudices, he 
must have comprehended at a glance, and felt as fe^' other men 
would feel, the trying })ositious into which a participation in this 
unnatural war must iuevital)iy force him. 

But as a loyal citizen of the United States, the path of duty 
seemed plain, and he resolved to walk therein, though it led him 
to carry fire and sword to the laud of his fatJiers, the haunts of 
his boyhood. ' 

And strange as it may seem, hundreds know it to be true, that 
the first time his regiment was drawn up in line of battle, was on 
the banks of Dicks' river, within nuisket shot of thehouse where- 
in his father was born, while all around were the homes of his 
kinsmen. Then he was, during' ids stay in this region, often 
strangely, perhaps painliilly impressed considering the nature of 
his visit, by noticing a resemblance (real or fancied) in persons 
wliom he met, to vari(^us members of liis father's lamily, and in 
turn was often mistaken himself for tv.'o other officers, to whom 
he must have borne a singular likeness, and lie could not doubt 
but in the veins of many of tJiese people ran blood in some way 
kindred to his own. 

Therefore he must liave ex[)erienced a sense of relief when the 
exigencies of the service called him to other localities. This reg- 
iment, the n2tli Illinois volunteers, always stood well in the es- 
timation of other commands; it was often denominated "the 
model regiment," undoulitedly the good sense aiul firmness of its 
officers saved it from marauding as many others did, when upon 
southern soil, and held it to tlie legitimate work of civilized war- 
fare — if there can be such a thing. 

To tell Stark county readers that the integrity of tlie character 
under consideration has stood unciuestioned through so many 
years of public life, political and military, is butasserting what is 



28-t STARK COUXTV 

too well understoofl to require utterance. Yet, in these days of 
luiearthing political corrui)ti()n, and the falling of so niany i)ul)- 
lic men from their high estates, by reason of their " sharp practi- 
ces, " to call tlieir proceedings by no liarsher name, it is pleasant 
to know there is here and there a man who has never betrayed a 
trust, broken a pledge or forgotten a friend, h()\\ever humble that 
friend may have been. 

To dwell ui)on such lives does us good; it ho\\)S our faith in hu- 
manity, and heals any tendency to misanthrophy that may liave 
been stealing over us, in view of the terrible exposures with 
Avhich the press has teemed of late. 

Does or does not the character we are considering, come up to 
this standard? Let those wlio know him 1)est decide. We have 
tried to set him before our readers as he really is, a brave and 
generous man, a patriotic citizen, a good soldier, an upriglit poli- 
tician, a pleasant and impressive speaker ; and yet other men 
have combined all these advantages, and not won the warm re- 
gard that has crowned General Henderson ^\•ith honor. Whence 
then, the secret of this power? We ask again : does it not lie in 
his nn varying courtesy, or kindliness, call it which you will, 
A\hieh never by any mischance forgets to do a kindness to the 
humblest as well as to the mo,4 distinguished of his acquaintan- 
ces? But with one of his own characteristic remarks we shall 
<:;lose this sketch. When a friend was congratulating him upon 
his late election to congress, he rei)lied : "In connection with tlie 
matter, one thought will always awaken regret, I shall not rep- 
resent Little Stark." 



THE M'cLEXXAIIAX FAMILY. 



Among our first settlers in point of time, and second to but few 
in numbers or importance, the McClennahans merit a fuller no- 
tice on these pages than it is in our power to give them. 

They belonged to that resolute class of men known so properly 
as pioneers ; that is, those who go first and remove ol)structi(^ns 
from the path, so that others may the more easily follow after.- 
And the present generation, who sit in the shade of thetreesthey 
planted and eat of the fruit thereof; who till the broad acres and 
i-eap the rich harvests their fathers' enterprise won for then;, 



AXD ITS PKJXEEKS. 285 

should at least rtMiieinher Avith something- akin to g-ratitude, the 
men wlio rifle in liand penetrated the wilderness, blazed the first 
trees, turned the first furrows, and by the strong hand held sava- 
ges and wild beasts at hay. 

Major MeClennahan, as he was usually ealled (though by what 
authority we are not advised), made his way from the old Domin- 
ion, tarrying for a time in Kentucky, reaching this region prior 
to the Blaek Hawk war. He had a family of ten sons and daugh- 
ters, all of whom came with him or followed soon after, and thus 
became citizens of Stark county. 

This is but little over forty years ago, and yet if we are correct- 
ly informed, uot one of this original group is left within our bor- 
ders. From a lady of the third generation, a grand-daughter of 
the major's, we thankfully gather the few facts attainable, with 
regard to the settlement here and their sul)sequent fate. 

They sought the protection of a fort for the wcjmen and chil- 
(h-enof the family, during the excitement caused by Black Hawk's 
raids in the spring of 1832. Whether the fort was the one built 
near the present home of Josiah ^loffitt, spoken of by Mr. Winn 
and many other old settlers, or whether they fled farther south to- 
ward Peoria or Springfield, as many did, we are not informed. 
But the men of the family soon returned, held and improved 
their claims, lying ahjng Indian and Walnut creeks, and prepared 
for a permanent settlement. 

Henry, eldest son of the major did not come west until 1834, 
when the Indian ditfi^culties were settled; after passing a few 
months in a cabin built by Peter INIiner, at or near the present 
t;)wn of Wyoming, he entered land in wiiat is now Goshen town- 
ship, on Walnut creek, the Indians then being his only neighbors. 
The other children of ]\Iajor McClennahan, all of whom will be 
W'ell remembered by old settlers, were, named in the order of 
their ages, 3[rs. Jane Barnett, (wife of Ephraim Barnett) Mrs. 
Elizabeth Richards, IVIrs. Ann \\'orley, Mrs. Sarah Holden, 
James, Robert and Elijah McClennahan, ]Mrs. Maria C'olwell, 
and INIrs. Jemima Drummond. The last named lady has attrac- 
ted a large share of attention and syinpathy among our people, 
on account of her singular and painful domestic history. She 
still lives at Otpiawka, Illinois. Henry died at his home in Go- 
shen t<nvnship, near twenty years ago. Ephraim I^arnettand his 
wife long since emigrated to Oregon where they have since both 
died. 

Robert and James, and if we mistake not. Dr. and Mrs. Rich- 
ards, eml>raced the views of the jNIormon preachers who visited 



280 STAKK (,'OUXTY 



this region during tho infancy of their sect, and went, first to 
Nauvoo, and afterwards foUov/ed the fortunes of the saints to 
.Salt Ijake, from vvhenee the brotliers at least, have gone " to tlie 
other side," to test the realities of their faith. 

Elijah, the youngest brother still survives, and is a citizen of 
the state of lowii. He was a Jlienil^er of the first (liristian church 
of Toulon, has been twice married, his first wife being a Stark 
county woman, a daughter of Conrad Emery. By both wives he 
has had large families, so that in the aggregate, his descendants 
are very numerous, some twenty-five children still survive as we 
are iiiiormed. So the name of McClesuiahau is not likely soon to 
fade away from among men, although Stark county has lost its 
hold upon it in great measure. The name indicates an Irish ori- 
gin, but how long transplanted to our shores no one seems to 
know. The family were whigs in the old time, and adherents of 
Colonel W. H. Itenderson, and the old frame structure, so long 
the major's homestead, was famous as a political rendezvous, in 
the early history of Stark county. In faith, the majority of the 
tamily embraced the views of Alexander Campbell, during the 
early days of that so-called "reformation," and so far as known to 
the writer, the present generation generally endorse those views of 
the svicred scriptures. 



m 



THK KSSKX FAMILY. 

Isaac B. Essex being the first white man wlio inade a home up- 
on our soil, has already been mentioned, and the circumstances 
of his coming noted. Still, as he was but the forerunner of a 
large group of kinsmen who speedily followed him hither, we 
feel it is proper to advert to the fomily in this connection, and 
give some additional facts concerning them. 

Thomas Essex, senior, was born January 1.3th, 1771, in the "old 
Bomiuior.," and Elizabeth-his wife in 1778, reaching back farther 
into the last century than any lives we have yet recorded, both of 
them ante dating the Independence of the United States. 

We regret our information is so meager concerning their early 
life. They were married in the state of Virginia (we suppose), 
on Easter Sunday, 1791, and lived together almost sixty-two 
years, both of them dying in 1853, at the house of their son-in- 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 2S7 

law, David Coopor, on section ten, Essex township. Mrs. Essex 
was a devout christian woman, died very suddenly January 2(>th, 
and Mr. Essex slowly and painfully, from cancer in the face, May 
loth. 

To these parents were born eleven children, two of whom died 
in infancy, the remainin<i- nine living- to a good old age in the en- 
joyment of unusual health. 

In 1832, this father and mother followed their son, Isaac B., in- 
to what has since been called, in their honor the Essex settle- 
ment ; now Essex township. With them came four sons, and 
one daughter and her husband ; a man well remembered by the 
pioneers — David Cooper. 

Other sons must soon have followed, as at least six have been 
fit one time or other residents here. Of these the eldest surviv- 
ing, is Isaac B., who states that he has reached the seventy-sixtii 
year of his life, as he was born in January, 1800. He now resides 
iit Dongola, Union county, Illinois, and if we can judge from the 
interesting letter he writes, is enjoying "a green old age." The 
two brothers older than himself have passed away ; those young- 
er are all living so far as he knows, but "scattered far and wide." 
David is in California, William near Henderson in Knox county, 
Thomas in Peoria county, while Joseph, John, and Mrs. Cooper 
still remain within the confines of little 8tark. These men ap- 
pear, from what we can learn of them, to have been good order 
loving citizens, democrats in politics ; Methodists in faith, their 
parents were prominent in all matters pertaining to that church 
at a very early day. 

Isaac B., however, we conclude, was known as a "Henderson 
man," prior to the formation of Stark county, and as very proba- 
ble his brothers were also, as at that time, local matters, more 
than party feelings divided the people. This gentleman is now 
a Baptist by religious profession, and a republican in politics, if 
we are correctly informed. 

Since the foregoing notice was penned, Joseph Essex has left 
us forever. He was stricken by paralysis, in the early part of 
this centennial year, and never recovered from the shock. His 
grand-daughter, Mrs. Sarah lieynolds, in an ol)ituary notice, re- 
calls the facts to mind, that he was one of the tirst to move into 
the newly laid out town of Toulon, where he made his home for 
19 years, and had the pioneer blacksmith's shop in that place. 

He was twice married and leaves a widow and eight children. 
His second wife was a Miss Sarah Grass, a name well i-emember- 
ed among the old settlers. 



2SS STARK COUXTY 



(•;)X('LUSIOX T!) PAllT SECOND. 

In eoneliuling' these sketches and reminiscences of Stark coun- 
ty pioneers, we have not forgotten a group of names in, and 
around our village of Toulon, of which no particular mention has 
.been made. Some of these were county men long before they 
were Toulon men. Of this class are ^NTinott Silliman, Oliver 
Whitaker, William Ogle, .John Fiidey, Calvin M. and Stephen 
W. Eastmans; and Joseph Perry and William Mahany lately 
deceased ; the last named gentleman being one of the very first 
settlers on Indian creek, of Spoon river. Now we sincerely wish 
it might be permitted us to put on record a fortunate lineor word, 
f veil, that in the years to come, should serve to awaken some 
j)leasant memory of these old friends, when th€^y perchance shall 
all "be gathered to their fathers," that we might add some tiny 
sprig or leaflet of our own, to the wreath of evergreen remem- 
brance, that should encircle their names, here, where their life 
work has been done. 

But how shall we hope to do this? AYe might tell our read- 
ers of the time and place of their birth, of the stock from which 
they sprung, of the date of their emigration hither, etc., ttc. But 
]>ehold, are not these things all told on the pages of our Stark 
county Atlas? and, as our work can hope for no wider circulation, 
it seems unnecessary to repeat such particulars upon tliese pages. 

And although such facts have a value of their own, and for ma- 
ny reason should be matters of record, yet how unsatisfiictory 
they often are in calling to mind the image of a friend. 

Their very literalness and naked truthfulness sometimes jar up- 
on the ear and shock our sensibilities. One reminiscence of a 
characteristic remark or timely deed of kindness, will often more 
effectually and more pleasantly recall the individual to mind than 
all these dry bones of history heaped together. 

The recollection that " when I was a stranger they took me in, 
sick and they visited me, in want and they ministered to my ne- 
cessities," is the best biography one can claim. And yet, we can 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 289 

liardlyconiiuit tlioc things to tlio printed paj^-o ; but wo aro led to 
believe that somewhere in the realms of ijrovidence a "book of re- 
mend)rap.ce " is kept, where sueh deeds are unerringly placed to 
the eredit side of human aeeounts, and there we feel sure some of 
the names we liave barely mentioned liave a full record. But, to 
speak more jiartieularly of Toulon matters. In the lieginning' of 
the year 1870 it was our f^dod fortune to hear Dr. Ciuuuberlain 
make one of his characteristic responses to a toast j^iven at an an- 
niversary supper in Toulon. The sentiment led toward reminis- 
cence, and for a short time it seemed the flood g-ates of memory 
were lifted and the current flowed forth full and deep, and spar- 
kled as it ran. INfany thintrs were said which will not soon be 
forgotten by those whose recollection encircles those days. But 
when he said (in substance) " that there were but four men left in 
Toulon then (three beside himself] that M^ere men when he came 
here in 184"^," we thought for a moment he must be mistaken, but 
^lue consideration established the fact that Mr. Whitaker, Mr. Tur- 
ner, Dr. Chamberlain and Dr. Hall are all that remain to us of the 
residents of our town who had attained to manhood thirty-one years 
ago. Of Dr. Hall suflicient has been said in the sketch of his fam- 
ily. Of Dr. Chand)erlain very much might be written of interest 
to his many acquaintances, but as his excessive modesty has prob- 
ably prevented him from favoring us with any facts upon which 
to base a sketch, we reluctantly leave him with this passing notice. 

]Mr. and Mrs. Turner, together with the parents of Mrs. Turner, 
Mr. and Mrs. ]McWilliams, moved into Toulon in October, 18-11, 
and built the first house here after the town was located — Mr. 
John 3Iiller, the former, owner of the land, being the only resi- 
dent up to the time of Mr, Turner's settlement. Mr. Turner has 
resided here continuously during this thirty-five years, and hasev- 
"r taken an active part in all town afiairs. He has been recog- 
nized as an unflinching democrat through all the ups and downs 
his party has known during this long period, and supj)orts Tilden 
in 1870 as enthusiastically as he did Van Buren in 183G, and so 
carefully has he read the newspapers, and studied the politics of 
the country during that time, as to have made himself a sort of 
living encyclopedia of i)olitical stastistics and general information. 
He has held many local positions of trust and importance. Was 
chosen county treasurer in 1819, and again in 1851, and has more 
recently filled the same office for another term as deputy for Mr, 
Brady Fowler. He was also virtually our first recorder, 15. M. 
Jackson making him his deputy for that oflice in 1839. 
19 



290 STARK COUNTY 

But Mr. Turner is best known as a veteran post master, having 
been appointed to tliat i)Osition Ijefore the close of Tyler's aduiin- 
istrati(jn, and continued in it through the terms of Polk and Pierce, 
i\nd again under Buchanan, reaching into Lincoln's term for a 
short time, but was then superseded by Mr. Whitaker, only to be 
recalled under Andrew Johnson, making- something more than 
sixteen years he has presided over the destinies of the Toulon 
post ottice. Of late he has interested himself iii educational mat- 
ters, having been for years an active member of our school board, 
and although a difference of opinion may i)revail with regard to 
the wisdon of his course at some times, as is always the case res- 
pecting public service of whatever kind, yet it must be admitted 
that Mr. Turner has ideas of his own which he has consistently 
jnaintained, and which embrace a strict economy in the expendi- 
ture of the i)ublic funds, and the development and emploj'ment 
■of home talent in the schools, whenever that is available. 

He is a native of Kent county, in the State of Delaware, where 
his ancestors have abided for generations, but has resided so long 
:at the west, as to become fully imlnied with its spirit. Mr. Tur- 
ner is a natural "teetotaller," never that he is aware of having 
tasted ardent spirits in his life ; he understands making friends, 
and the rarer art of keeping them, so has no lack of these in his 
old age. But in the nudst of plenty, and with pleasant suri'ound- 
ings, descends the western slope more leisurely than the average 
of men. 

Oliver Whitaker, the last of our pioneers in county or town 
that we shall make mention of in this connection, was born as 
our oi'acle, the ^Vtlas declares, Ai)ril 12th, 1807, near Owego, Tio- 
ga county, New York. His maternal ancestors were from IIol- 
land, his paternal of New England lineage. 

And it further correctly states that at the time of the massacre 
at Wyoming, his grandmother and several of her children inclu- 
ding his mother, were carried captive by the Indians into Cana- 
da; his grandfather's life Ijeing saved by his absence from 
home at the time this transpired. No tidings reached him from 
Iris lost family for four long years, when peace V)eing declared, 
they were allowed to return, and lived again at Wysox, in the 
beautiful valley of the yusquehanna. Mr. Whitaker's mother 
followed her sons to Illinois, in 1850, having then attained hei 
eightieth year. 

She passed the evening of her life in their society, and went 
calmly to her rest in 18-32. His father, however, had died when 
Oliver was but a boy of twelve — in 1819, and afterwards as he 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 291 

ratefully expresses it, he was indebted for a father's care and 
mnscl to his lialf brother, Ilewes White, liis mother's son by a 
inner inarriage. 

Tliis gentleman and his exemplary wife will be well remem- 
?red by many of our readers, as they were residents of Stark 
)unty for near forty years, and two-thirds of that time of Tou- 
m. Mr. Whitaker is certainly rather remarkable for the fideli- 
r with which he treasures the recollection of "favors past." 
hings soon forgotten by the average man. His mother and his 
rother were alike in humble circumstances, and many of his 
authful days must have passed in labors uncongenial to his 
i5te, and he enjoyed but few educational advantages ; the best he 
ys were derived from his position as clerk and accountant in a 
illage store ; there he acquired the ready penmanship, and busi- 
3SS capacity that aided in making him the first clerk of Stark 
»unty, and keeping him in similar positions, so long that the 
saffected began to " wonder if Whitaker thought he had a di- 
ne right to clerkships." 

In 1835 he married Catharine Brodhead, and two years later, 
migrated to what is now Stark county, and commenced farm- 
jg on the north-west quarter, section eleven, Elmira township, 
jat his appointment to the office of circuit clerk in 1843, induced 
jm to give up farming and remove to the county seat, where he 
IS ever since resided. Eight of his family of nine children are 
'jitives of Stark, but as with one exception, they are all working 
kt their destiny much as recorded in the j)rior sketch, before al- 
'|ded to, we will not repeat the details. 

*But one, we had almost said the fairest and dearest, has faded 
biy. In that quaint old town of San Ant(»nio, she v»'ithered 
'ce a "crushed rose," (her meet emblem) pining for " one whiff 
our northern breezes," and om^ more look at her dear northern 
>me. Thus died ^Irs. Henry, once Delphine Whitaker, third 
lughter of 3Ir. and Mrs. Oliver Whitaker, December 19th, 1875. 
fe was a T(nilon girl, born and bred, lovely in person, attrac- 
i'e in manners, and possessing a voice of rare power and sweet- 
}ss, wiiich, carefully cultivated as it was, made her a charming 
Realist. 

Loved by all who knew her, she was in musical circles, special- 
admired. Sine went out from among us singing, full of life 
|d .nimation. She was returned to us by the hand of affection, 
it silent, cold and dead. Now her last wish is gratified, she 
?eps with her kindred, where the wild floAvers of her native 



292 STARK COUXTY 

state may bloom above her grave, and the breezes that she loved, 
A'isit her unrestrained. 

]Mr. and Mrs, Whitaker still remain active members of society. 
]Mr. Wliitaker has been an odd-fellow ever since the establish- 
ment of the order in Stark, "and always a consistent temperance 
man. His interest in schemes for the jjublic good, seems to in- 
crease with every added year. At the organization of the coun- 
ty, and for many years after, he ranked as a democrat, but in the 
great defection from that party of 185(i, he crossed the line and 
has ever since been a decided republican. 

Of his faitli, religiously sijeaking, perhaps it were better to say 
nothing, especially where nothing is surely known. We conclude 
however, that tlie rationalistic views of his ekler brother, colored 
his opinions to some extent. But he has ever set the valuable 
example of treating all the institutions of Christianity with pro- 
found respect, and we are inclined to endorse Pope's sentiment, 
"He can't be wrong, whose life is in the right." 

But we are glad that Stark county people are not dependent on 
our poor attempts alone for their impressions of these old settlers. 
They are all known morie or less generally, and our reader> 
can judge for themselves of the justice of the iiortraiture. 

We see the imperfections in our work perhaps as clearly as any 
of our critics, only we known better than they, the circumstan- 
ces that have produced some of them at least. f 

Of many of these characters we should have written uiore ful- 
ly, but, they are our friends and neighbors, we may shake hands 
with them any day, and do not wish to place ourselves where 
we may be even suspected of flattery — any more than charged 
with injustice. And though striking lessons might be drawn 
from some of them, teaching the young the value of noble aims 
and steady purposes in life, we forbear, and close the record 
here. Only adding that if it is among the possibilities of the fu- 
ture, that another edition of this work should ever be called for, 
we trust an assured patronage may justify us in embellishing it 
with good steel engravings of the faces of our pioneers. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 



293 



APPENDIX 



-•-•-»- 



ELECTION RETURNS FOR STARK COUNTY 



August 5, 1830. 

County ciininiissiotifri?. 

Calvin Winslow, av 120 

.lonathan Hodgeson, cl...224 

William Ogle, d 11(5 

Calvin Powell, w 10 

Stephen Trickle, d 114 

Countv clerk. 

Oliver Whitaker, d 98 

Adam Perry, w 31 

RobertMcClennahan, w.. 8-") 

County treasuifr. 

Minott Silliman, d loO 

Enoch Cox, w 71 

County survoyor, 

Joseph C. Averv 72 

.1. W. Agard, d 2 

Charles H. Miner, w 73 

Carson Berfield, d 76 

Probate judge. 

John Miller, d 1G9 

Augustus Richards, vv... 37 

Itcconler. 

Jesse Heath, d 109 

B. M.Jackson, d^ 114 

August 3, 1840. 

Countv oomniissioncr. 

William Ogle, d 184 

Stephen Trickle, d 104 

Slieiiff. 

John Finley, d 100 

Samuel Butler, \v 130 



Coroner. 

Adam Day, d 17S 

Moses Boardman, d 24 

James Ilolgate, d 29 

B. Essex, d 4 

T!(>pi'escntative. ' 

Elisha Swan, d 1(53 

W. H. Henderson, w 139 

November 2, 1840. 

President. 

W. H. Harrison, w 187 

Martin VanBuren, d 154 

April 19, 1841. 

County seat. 

For location 202 

Against location...! 05 

August 2, 1841. 

Congress. 

James H. Ralston, d 146 

.lohn T. Stuart, w 13(X. 

County coniiiiissioiier. 

Bradv Fowler, d 138 

W. W. Webster, w 124 

Calvin Winslow, w G 

Scliocd eoniniissidiier. 

Samuel Camp, d 73 

Benjamin Turner, d C^^^ 

Charles H. Miner, w 122 



294 



STARK COUNTY 



August 1, 1842. 



Governor. 

Thomas Ford, d 189 

Joseph Duncan, \v 152 

Lieutfiiiiut-KOVHrnor. 

John Moore, d 183 

W. H. Henderson, w 133 

state senator. 

Wm. H. Thompson, d...l73 
Charles Ballance, \v 151 

Kerrespiitative. 

B. M. Jackson, d 188 

Henry Breese, w ! 155 

Cyrus Langworthy 1 19 

Constitutional convention. 

For convention 288 

Against convention 27 

Sheriff'. 

John Finley, d 220 

Lewis Perry, w 105 

Coroner. 

Adam Day, d 180 

Liberty Stone, w 100 

County conimi.ssioner. 

Jonathan Hodgeson, d...l40 
Scattering 2 

October 31, 1842. 

Sheriff. 

John Finley, d 80 

J. K. McClennahan, w... 4 

August 7, 1843. 

Congress. 

J. P. Hoge, d 100 

Cyrus Walker, w 180 

Matthew Chambers, 13 

School eoniniissioner. 

Charles H. Miner, w 170 

Wm. F. Thomas, d 155 

Proliate .justiee. 

.Jonathan Hodgeson, d...l04 
Thomas Hall, d 139 

County comniissioner. 

Lemuel S. Dorranee, W..187 
Joseph Palmer, d 170 

County clerk. 

Oliver Whitaker, d 185 

Jesse Heath, d 105 

Eecorder. 

J. W. Henderson, w 195 

Benjamin Turner, d 101 

Treasurer. 

Minott Sill i man, d 302 

Sylvester Schofield 

Sur\'eyor. 

Carson Berfield , d 258 

Charles H. Miner, w 33 



August 5, 1844. 



i 



Congress. 

Joseph P. Hoge, d 2 

Martin B. Sweet, w I 

John Crass, a ; 

County commission or. 

Joseph Palmer, d 2(i 

Harry Hays, w i;i 

Hugh Rhodes, a i; 

Representative, Bureau, Peoria and Stark. 

B. M. Jackson, d 2ti 

C. H. Miner, w 1^ 

W. W.Webster, a i 

P.urcau anil Stark. 

Benj. L. Smith, d 2( 

Harvey Hadley, w r, 

Lazarus Reeves, a 

Sheriff. 

John W. Henderson, W..2C 

John Finlev, d IC 

AV. W. Winslow, a... 2! 

Coroner. 

John Miller, d 19 

M. S. Hubbard, w 18 

Liberty Stone, a 2 



November 4, 1844. 

President. 

J. K. Polk, d 20(1 

Henry Clay, w 18" 

^ Jas. 0. Birney, a 3:1 

August 4, 1845. 

County commissioner. 

Jefferson Trickle, d 14.5 

W. W. Webster, a 2« 

School commissioner. 

James B. Lewis, d 17i' 

C. M. Garfield, d 2i- 

Hugh Rhodes, a Vi 

August 3, 1846. 

Governor. 

Augu,stus C. French, d...217 
Thos. M. Kilpatriek, w..L'05 
Richard Eells, a 59 

Lieut-governor. 

J. B. Wells, d 218 

N. G. Wilcox, M- 204 

Abram Smith, a 59 

Congress. 

Thomas J. Turner, d 220 

James Knox, w 2(17 

Wait Talcott, a 57 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 



205 



Senator. 

Peter Sweet, d 21 4 

L. B. Knowlton. w 196 

Moses Pettingill, a o8 

Rt'l>ii'sciitiitivo, IJnreau, J'oori:i and Staik. 

Thomas Epperson, d 21 



K. E. Thompson, w. 



.207 



Albert G. Porter, a 58 

Bureau anil ^tark. 

Samuel Thomas, d 184 

Theodore F. Hurd, w 227 

Augustus A. Dunn, a GO 

Slicriff. 

J. W. Henderson, w 2G4 

Benjamin Turner, d 173 

Henry J. Rhodes, a 32 

eonimissiuncr. 

Jarnes Hol^ate, d 222 

Mvrtle G. Brace, w 207 

Giles C. Dana, a 50 

('ui(in(>r. 

Philip Anschntes, d 217 

' E. M. Garfield, d 192 

Liberty Stone, a 52 

April, 1847. 

Delcg.itos to ccinstitnti.mal ciinvcntion. 

B, ]\r, Jackson, d 154 

(Jeorge H. Shaw, 11 

Henrv D. Palmer, 92 

Hugh Rhodes, a.. 23 

August 2, 1S;47. 

Couniv (•iiiiiini~>icjni'r. , 

Thomas Lvle, d 213 

H. R. Halsev, w 200 

W. AW Webster, a 19 

C'ouiitv clcik. 

T. J. Henderson, \v 231 

Jas. B. I^ewis, d 212 

Rffonlcr. 

Sam'l G. Butler, w 223 

John Berfield, d 203 

Trtasurcr. 

Minott Silliman, d 223 

.John Aliller, d 173 

Joseph Blanchard, a 49 

Probate juilge. 

S. W.Eastman, d 182 

Thomas Hall, d 138 

Harvey J. Rhodes, a 49 

SurvfVi'r. 

Carson Berfield, d 31(> 

Wm. Buswell, a 40 

School ct)inniis^inncr. 

James B. IjCwIs, d ..278 



Samuel (;!. AVright, a 87 

March G, 1848. 

Xcw coMstitutiun. 

For 233 

Against 84 

Articlie on colored [jcrsons. 

For 148 

Against ^ 135 

Two mill tax. 

For 250 

Against 54 

August 7, 1848. , 

Gijvernor. 

Augustus C. French, d...24G 

J. L. D. Morrison, w 30 

Charles V. Dyer, a 57 

Lieutenant-governor. 

Wm. McMurtry, d 243 

Pierre Menard.! : 3G 

Henry H. Snow 5G 

S<'cretury of ;<tate. 

Horace C. Corley,d 241 

L. C. Payne Freer 55 

Levi Davis 31 

Auditor. 

Benj. E. Vail 54 

.Milton Carpenter, d 243 

Enoch Moore 31 

'"'joseph B. Wells, d 224 

E. I). Baker, w 22G 

Joseph Call, f. s 39 

State .senatoi-. 

R. H. Spicer, d 229 

John Denny, w 21(> 

Joseph Jac'kman, f. s 37 

Ilejiji'sentative. 

Ijemuel Andrews, d 21 (> 

Wm. Bailey, w 223 

Harvey J. Rhodes, a 40 

•-'onntv coinniissioner. 

Theo. F. Hurd, M' 239 

Milton Atherton, d 211 

W. W.Webster, a 34 

Slieritf. 

John Finley, d 231 

C. M. S. Lvon, w 225 

Giles C. Dana, a 24 

Corollej-. 

Wm. Chamberlain, W...22G 

John A. Williams, d ISG 

liberty Stone, a 35 



296 



STARK COUNTY 



September 4, lS4s. 

Joiiii J). Caton, (1 200 

Jes.se B. Thomas, \v Tj.") 

C'lffk ol siipi-fnie coiut. 

Lorenzo Leland, w 20G 

John M. Mitchell, d H 

Judge of circuit court. 

Benj. F. Fridley, d l;« 

Theopliiis L. Dickey, w..l80 
Onslow Peters, d...^ 10 

states attorney. 

Burton ( '. Cook , d 179 

Edward S. Holbrook, d.. 88 

Circuit cleric. 

Oliver Whitaker, d 109 

Jefferson Winn , d 49 

N. W. Rhodes, w 12 

November 7, 1848. 

rresuleiit. 

Taylor, \v 214 

t'ass,d 174 

Van Buren, f. s 84 

December 20, 1848. 

Kejircsentative. 

John Henderson, w 218 

Barnabas Jackson, d lOO 

April 14, 1849. 

Trobate jn.-<tice, to fill vacauev. 

Harvey J. Rhodes, a lor, 

Philip J. An.schutes, d... 19 
Jonathan Hodgeson, d... 4-') 

Aildiiij; t<iuiisliiii li-r, 

^OJ- 172 

Against 7 

AililiiiK S 14 on4-.-.. 

Jfw 154 

Against U) 

November 6, 1849. 

County .juil^e. 

James Holgato, d 200 

Harvey J, Rhodes, a 127 

Aililitioual justice. 

James B. Lewis, d 231 

William Ogle, d 288 

Herrick R. Halsey, W...189 
Henry Breese, w lo7 

County cleric. 

T. .]. Henderson, w 24") 

Edward K. Wilson, d...l78 



iroai<nrer. 

Benj. Turner, d 21!) 

Sanuiel G. Butler, w 194 

Surveyor. 

Carson Bertield, d 82.1 

James Egbert, d 2-', 

Scliool coiuuiissiouer. 

Hamuel CI. Wright, a 199 

M. Shallenberger, d 189 

Townsliip organization. 

For 108 

Against i(>8 

January 11, lsr,(). 

Circuit jmlKe. 

Onslow Peters, d 198 

William Kellogg, w 181 

States attorney. 

Aaron Tyler, jr ].")(> 

Lewis W. Ross IM 

Harmon G. Reynolds.... 4(> 
John T. Lindsay 8 

November 5, 18.30. 

State treasurer. 

John Moore l Gi ) 

Ebenezer Fuller 28 

Congress. 

Thompson Campbell 1 ')7 

Martin P. Sweet 128 

I'lepreseiitative. 

.Tames M. Allan, w 122 

W. ^^^ Drummond, d....l87 

Slieriff. 

Wm. F. Thomas, d .142 

Stephen G. Worley, W...129 

r'uroniT. 

Minott Silliman, d IGO 

Hiram Nance, w 100 

November 4, 1851. 

ISank l.r.v. 

For 172 

Against us 

state senator. 

Samuel Webster, w 161 

Reuben IE. Si)icer, d 154 

Treasure!-. 

Benj. Turner, d 264 

6 others 18 

Surveyor. 

Carson Berfleld, d 256 

8 others 11 

Scliool commission er. 

Sam'l G. Wright, a 152 

T. .L Henderson, w 2(5 

G. A.Clifford, w 80 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 



297 



'November 2, 1852. 

riv^iiU'iit. 

Pierce, tl 8o(> 

Scott, w ;58() 

Hale, f. s 82 

<;i.ivciii(ir. 

.Joel A. Mattison, d ;3-)7 

Edwin B. Webb, w :5.'5S 

I). A. Knowlton, f. s 7-5 

Lii'iitciiiuit-fnivenioi-. 

Gustavus Koerner, d .'>•")() 

J AH. L. 1). Morrison, w..8Hs 
Philo Carpenter, f. s 78 

i^lTl'ftlll'.V of stilt I'. 

Alexander Starne, d 0-")r» 

Buckner S. Morris, \v....;5;>7 
Erastus Wright, f . s 72 

Thos. H. Campbell, d....85(> 

Charles Betts, \v 88'.) 

E. .J. Smith, f. s 71 

I'reasurci-. 

.John Moore, d 8'>7 

Francis Arenz, w 848 

Moses IMtingill, f. s 58 

Stati' senate. 

Benj. Graham, d 858 

Samuel Webster, w 387 

Geo. A. Clifford, f. s G4 

Legislature. 

Wni. Marshall, jr, d 858 

.James M. Allan, w 884 

<'< ingress. 

Lewis W. Ross, d 8()1 

.James Knox, w 888 

L. \V. Curtis, f . s 71 

.Jiiil^-f (if ein-iiit cduit. 

H. M. Wead, d 862 

H. O. Merriman, w 318 

Elisha N. Powell, w 59 

states attorney. 

E. G. .Johnson, d 418 

Geo. W. Stipp, w ....840 

Sheriff. 

Clinton Indler, w 859 

John Bertield, d 856 

.Joseph Blanchard, f. s... 49 

Circuit elerU. 

Milton P^ckley, w 269 

Jeffer.son Win n, d 29s 

Oliver Whitaker, i 192 

i.'oriiner. 

Ebenezer J^'uller, d 880 

David McCance, d 869 



Amos Jlodgeson, d. 



Assueiate jiiil:4e df prdliate roir, t. 

.John F. Thompson, d....355 
Ilerrick 11. Halsey, w ...884 
Harvey J. Ilhodes, a 65 

INJarch 14, 1858. ' 

( 'ilTUlt .Tmlfle. 

Onslow Peters, d 175 

Elih u X . Po wel 1 , w 45 

Jonathan Iv. Cooper, w. 69 

August 13, 1853. 

Hail load snbseriiition. 

I^or 584 

Against 141 

November 8, 1853. 

Cipuntv inline. 

James Holgate, d 287 

Herrick 11. Halsey, w...28i> 
Harvey J. Bhodes, a 9 

Countv elerk. 

Milton Warren, d 24(> 

Miles A. Fuller, w 268 

Treasnrer. 

Benj. Turner, d 246 

Davis Lowman, w 255 

Surveyor. 

Sylvester P\ Otman, d...264 
.James Perry, w 287 

School coininissioner. 

S. G. Wright, a 218 

Lucius E. Miner, w 119 

April 4, 1854. 

Town.sliip organization. 

For 889 

x\.gainst 104 

November, 1854. 

Congress. 

William McISIurtry, d...218 
.James Knox, w 890 

John Moore, d 288 

James Miller, w 272 

rtol>resentative. 

Henry Grove, w 347 

T. .J. Henderson, w 395 

Wm. S. Moss, d 182 

Alexander Moncrief, d..237 

Sheriff. 

David :\IcCance, d 248 

Joseph Blanchard, w 827 

Coroner. 

MinottSilliman, d 251 

Luther S. Milliken, W...348 



298 



STARK COrXTY 



June 4, ISoo. 

Act to suppress iuti'iiipf ranee. 

For 42S 

Ao-aiivst ;}r)9 

Supreme judse. 

Joii n Dean C'aton , d 749 

E. S. Leland, av 29 

Clerk of'siiiireme cnurt. 

Lorenzo Leland, w 42o 

Circuit jiidse. 

Onslow Peters, d 421 

Elihu X. Powell, w 834 

November G, 1855. 

Treasurer. 

Davis Lownian, av 287 

Mathew B. Parks, d 18G 

Surveviir. 

Sylvester F. Otman, f. s.285 
James C. Egbert, d 08 

School fi.iijiiait'-^ioiier. 

Pw C. Dunn, a 8S1 

V. 31. S. Lyon, w (57 



April 1, 1850. 

Ciroiit jmiye. 

Jacob Gale, d 872 

Scattering 98 

November 4, 1856. 

President. 

Buchanan, d 858 

Fremont, r 718 

Filmore, Am 152 

CJuvcriior. 

Wm. A. Richardson, d... 852 

Win. H. Bissell, r 747 

Buckner S. Morris, Am. 128 

Lieuteuaiit-jioveiiKir. 

R. .J. Hamilton, d 850 

Joh n Wood , r 749 

Parmenas Bond, Am 128 

Secretary of state. 

Wm. H. Snyder, d 857 

OziasM. Hiitch, r 744 

Wm. H. Young, Am 128 

Auditor. 

Samuel K. Casey, d 850 

Jesse K. Dubois, r 744 

state treasurer. 

John More, d ,857 

James Miller, r 870 

Sujieriiiteiident of ]iiildi.- institution 

J. H. S. Mathews, d 855 

AVm. H. Powell, r 744 

Ezra Jenkins, Am 128 



Congresii. 

James W. Davidson, d..405 
Wm. Kellogg, r 757 

."^tate senate. 

John Dickson, d 480 

T.J. Henderson, r 7G7 

liepresentative. 

Wm. S. Moss, d 839 

31. Shallenberger, d 458 

John T. Lindsay, r 747 

Calvin L. Eastman, r 72G 

Circuit judge. 

ElihuN. Powell, r 780 

Amos Merriman, d 80 

States attorney. 

Joseph W. Parker, d 400 

Alexander McCoy, r 700 

SlierilT. 

William Lowman, d 588 

Henry Breese, r 015 

County clerk. 

.lefferson Winn, r 807 

Stilton Dwire, d 400^ 

Coroner. 

Benj. Hilliard 742 

John R. Atherton, r 472 

Constitutional convention. 

Eor 1008 

Against 188 

November 8, 1857. 

County judge. 

James Holgate, d 204 

JohnP'inley, r sm. 

C. W. Young, Am 78 

County clerk. 

Warham Mordoff, d 190 

utiles A. Fuller, r 479 

Jas. G. Armstrong Am.. 72 

Treasurer. 

William Lowman, d 275 

Davis Lowman, r 870 

Nathan Snare, Am ].. 97 

School coniiuissioner. 

R. C. Dunn, r 424 

James Ferguson, Am.... 74 
Charles Myers, d 229 

Snrveyoi-. ^ ~ 

Sylvester F. Otman, r...404 

John H. Anthonv, d 288 

B. F. Fuller, Ani 94 

November 2, 1858. 

State treasurer. 

.James Miller, r 938 

Wm. F. Fondey, d .589 

John Dougherty, d 2. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 



29{> 



Superintciiilout jiuMic iiistnictiun. 

JNewtou Bateiuan, r 988 

Augustus C. Frent'h, d...588 
John Reynolds, d 2 

Congross. 

Wm. Kollog-g, r 029 

James AV. Davidson, d...o84 
Jacob Gale, d 8 

Koprespiitutives. 

Thomas C. Moore, r 930 

Myrtle G. Brace, r 930 

Jacob Jamison, d 58r) 

Ebon C. Ingersoll, d 583 

Mathew INIcReynolds, d. (J 
Wash , Corrington , d 4 

Sheriff. 

Oliver P. Emery, r 543 

Mark Blanchard, d 511 

Benj. F. Fuller, i 4G8 

Coroiipr. 

Benj. L. Ililliard, r 930 

Henry M. Hall, d 588 

November 1, 1859. 

Treasure 1-. 

Wm. Lowman, d 445 

Hugh Rhodes, r 4GG 

Survev'ir. 

S.F. Otman, r 485 

J. H. Anthony, d 425 

School eoiiiiiiissiuix'i'. 

R. C. Dunn, r 511 

Wm. H. Butler, d 401 

November 6, 1860. 

Constitutional convention. 

For 1481 

Against 59 

President. 

Lincoln, r 1104 

Douglas, d 059 

Bel! 23 

Governor. 

James C. Allen, d 071 

Richard Yates, r 1107 

AVm. Brown 8 

Lieutenant-iiovernor. 

Lewis W. Ross, d 073 

F. A; Hoffman, r 1104 

H.C.Blackburn 8 

Secretary state. 

Geo. H. Campbell, d.... 073 
Ozias M. Hatch, r 1172 

Auditor. 

Bernard Artzen, d 073 

Jesse K. Dubois, r 1172 



state treasurer. 

' Hugh Maher, d 073 

Wm. Butler, r 1172 

Superintendent pulilie institutimi. 

Edward R. Roe, d 073 

Newton Bateman, r 1172 

Congress 

R. G. Ingersoll, d 672 

Wm. Kellogg, r 1174 

state senate. 

Albert C. Mason, d 67;i 

Thos. J. Pickett, r 1172 

Itepresentative. 

John T. Lindsay, d 669 

Jacob Jamison, d 671 

E. 8. Johnson, r 1172 

Theodore Hurd, r 1173 

states attorney. 

Henry B. Hopkins, d... 074 
Alexander McCoy, r....ll70 

Circuit clerk. 

Theo. A. Foreman, d... 098 
P. M.Blair, r 112» 

Sheriff. 

Ephraim Markley. d... 710 
Elisha Greenfield, r 1123- 

Coroiii-r. 

Henry M. Hall, d 680 

Jerome B. Thomas, r...llOO 

June 3, 1801. 

Circuit iu(lt;e. 

Elihu N. Powell, r 219 

Amos L. Merriman, d.. Ill 

Clerk of supreme court. 

Lorenzo Leland, r 180 

David L. Hough, d 141 

November 5, 1861. 

Bank law. specie basis. 

For 7 

Against 500 

Delegate to <-onstituti<iiial convention. 

Thos. .J. Henderson, r.. 470 

•Julius Planning, d 153 

Norman Purple, d 73 

('ountv judge. 

David McCance, d 534 

John Finley, r 11> 

Countv clerk. 

Miles A. Fuller, r 525 

Treasurer. 

William Lowman, d.... 546 

Scliocd ccminiissioner. 

Charles flyers, d 200 

N. F. Atkins, r 314 



300 



STARK COUNTY 



.Snrvcvdr. 

William Nowlan, d .")(>.") 

James C. Egbert, r 'hi 

June 17, 18G2. 

Xcw (■iinstitiition. 

For 4So 

Against 993 

Article (111 bank, &c. 

For 529 

Against 91G 

f^ortion one, Negroes. 

For 71") 

Against 693 

Section two, Negroes. 

For 13S2 

Against 39 

S ection three, Negroes. 

For 1072 

Against 237 

Cnn^ri'ssional apixutioiinient. 

^For 4S2 

Against doo 

November -1, 18G2. 

^tate treasurer. 

Wm. Butler, r SOI 

Alexander Starne, d OGG 

Suiieriiitendeiit pulilic instruction. 

Newton Bateman, r 801 

John P. Brooks, (1 5(3.3 

Congress at large. 

E. C. Ingersoll, r 815 

James C. Allen, d 544 

C ongress. 

Owen Lovejoy, r 5G4 

T. J. Henderson, n 7(53 

Benj. Graham, d 28 

state senate. 

Mark Bang^, r 794 

John T. Lindsay, d 5G4 

Representatives. 

Enoch Emery, r 777 

C'alviji L. Flastman, r... 7!»G 

Wm. W. O'Brien, d 545 

James Holgate, d 590 

Sheriff. 

B. Frank Fuller, r 703 

Thos. W. Ross, d 650 

Coroner. 

Jeffrey A. Cooley, r 743 

Theo. Bacmeister, d.... 682 



November 3, 18G3. 

Treasurer. 

C. M. S. Lvon, r 695 

R. J. Dikenson, d...! 206 

Surveyor. 

Henry Oliver, r 693 

John H. Anthony, d.... 208 

School coinnus>iiiiier. 

N. F. Atkins, r 697 

Robert S. Barr, d 210 

November 17, 1863. 

Circuit jiKlae. 

M. Shallenberger, d 443 

M. Williamson, r 887 

November 8, 1864. 

'"(ieo. B. McClellan, d... 613 
A. Lincoln, r 1174 

Governor. 

James C. Robinson, d.. 614 
R. J. Oglesby, r 1174 

Lieutenant-governor. 

8. Corning Judd, d 614 

AVm. Bross, r 1173 

Secretary state. 

Wm. A. Turney, d 614 

Sharon Tyndale, r 1174 

Anilitor. 

John Hise, d 614 

O. H. Miner, r 1174 

Treasurer. 

Alexander Starne, d 614 

J. H. Beveridge, r 1174 

Superintendent pulilic instruction. 

John P. Brooks, d 614 

Newton Bateman, r 1174 

Congress at large. 

James C. Allen, d 614 

Samuel W. Moulton, r..ll74 

''"'' James S. Eckles, d 613 

E. C. Ingersoll, r 1174 

Ilepresentative. 

Wm. Rounseville, d 613 

Jacob Jamisoi), d 612 

Alex. McCov, r 1 173 

R. C. Uunn,"^ r 1170 

States attorney. 

Geo. E. Ford, d 611 

Chas. P. Taggart, r 1174 

Sheriff. 

James Nowlan, d 614 



John M. Brown, r. 



.1169 



AXD ITS PIONEERS. 



301 



Ciicnit cl.Mk. 

Chas. Myers, d (><»!) 

J>. M. Blair, r 117i> 

H. M. Hall, d <»1-1 

John F. Rhodes, r 1170 

May 7, 18G4. 

Congress. 

E. C. Ingersoll, r sa 

llezekiah M. Wead, d.. A(\r> 



June G, 18G4. 

SuproiiicjiMl.nP. 

C'has. B. Lawrence, r... 4s.] 
Scattering 14 

November 7, 1SG5. 

Coiiiitv JuilsiP. 

Hugh Rhodes, r 3o8 

County cU-rk. 

M. A. Fuller, r 3G3 

Treasurer. 

R. J. Dickinson, r 3G0 

Sinierinteiideiit selionljs. 

B. G. Hall, r 3GG 

SurvfVor. 

Edwin Butler, r 3/0 

November G. ISGG. 

state treasurer. ^ ,^ ^ 

Geo. W. Smith, r 1293 

.Jesse J. Philips, d 585 

t>uperiutfnilent )iul>lii- instruction. 

Newton Bateman, r 1294 

J. M. Crebs, d 585 

Congress at large. 

John A. Logan, r 1292 

T. L. Dickey, d 585 

Cor.trress. 

E. C. Ingersoll, r 128G 

Silas Ramsey, d 585 

State senate. 

G. L. Fort, r 1292 

W. E.Cook, d 585 

Keiiresentntive. 

S. F. Otman, r 1289 

Thos.C. :Moore, r 1291 

Wm. T. Dowdall, d 584 

J, M.Rogers, d 585 

SlieritT. _ 

Jesse Likens, r i2(/ 

Cyrus N. Anthony, d... 590 



""" John Finley, r 1292 

David Fast, jr., d 579 

.June 3, 18G7. 

Clerk of suiircuie court. 

W. M. Taylor, r 575 

S. J. McFadden, d 8 

Circuit jiulge. 

S. D. Puterbaugh, r 437 

IL M. Wead, d... 299 

J. Iv. Cooper, i 21 

November 5, 18G7. 

Kieiiing up stock. 

For G05 

Against 401 

Treasurer. 

R. ,J. Dickinson, r 7G5 

Patrick Nowlan, d 327 

Surveyor. 

Edwin Butler, r G58 

John H. Anthony, d.... 328 

November 3, 18G8. 

' Tresiileut. 

Seymour, d 70'> 

Grant, r 1394 

Governor. 

John R. J^den, d 719 

.John M. Palmer, r 1381 

Lieut enaut-,gover nor. 

Wm. H. VanEpps, d... 717 
John Dougherty, r 1381 

Secretary of state. 

(>. Van Horebeke, d.... 713 
Edward Rummel, r 1 384 

.Vuilitor. 

John R. Shannon, d 71G 

Chas. II Jjippincott, r ..1377 

state ti-eas\iri'r. 

.Jesse J. Phillips, d 71G 

Erastus N. Bates, r 1382 

Attornev-gencral. 

llobt. y.. Williams, d... 716 
Wash. Bushnell, r 1381 

Penitentiary commissioners. 

J. W. Connet, d 71G 

AV. M. Garrard, d 71G 

Calneh Zarley, d 71G 

Andrew Shuman, r 1382 

JohnReid, r 1382 

Robert PI Logan, r 1383 



S02 



STARK COUNTY 



Congress at large. 

W. W. O'Brien, d 715 

John A. Logan, r 1382 

Congress. 

John N. Nigia.s, d 717 

E. C. Ino-ersoll,r 1351 

Samuel Dorr, t 3 

Board of pquulization. 

AVilliani French, d 715 

ElaH. Clapp, r 1380 

Constitutional convention. 

For 582 

Against 664 

.states attorney. 

J. W. Cochran, d 720 

Chas P. Taggart, r 1361 

Hepresentative. 

Patrick Xowlan , d 738 

Henry Truitt, d 731 

B. F. Thompson, r 1352 

W. E. Phelps, r 1360 

Circuit clerk. 

Wm. Lowman, d 7(t8 

John M. Brown, r 1302 

Sheriff. 

C. p. Jackson, d 726 

S. M. Adams, r 1365 

Coroner. 

Wm Bradley, d 716 

Thomas Hall, r 1376 



November 2, m]^. 



Constitutional convention. 

Henry N. Wells, r, 703 

M. A. Fuller, r 723 

Henry Groye, d ''(•O 

M. Shallenberger, d 274 

Countv iudc'.'. 

Hugh Rhodes, r V,m 

James Snare, i 27!> 

County clerk. 

Oliver Whi taker, r 737 

Thos. J. Wright, d 234 

Trcaeiir>n'. 

JR. J. Dickin.'^on, r 706 

Benj. A. Newton, i 254 

Sujterintemlent scliools. 

B. O. Hall, r 681 

John W. Agard, d 280 

Surveyor. 

Edwin Butler, r 702 

J. H. Anthony, d 268 



July 2, 1.870. 

New constitution. 

For 609 

Against ii') 

November 8, 1870. 

state treasurer. 

E. N. Bates, r 768 

Chas. Pidgly, d 494 

R. J. Hammond, t 3 

Tenitentiary conunissioiiers. 

Elmer W^ashburn, r 767 

Casper Butz, r 767 

Frank T. Sherman, d... 494 

Thomas Redman, d 493 

J. F. Simson, t 3 

Joseph Smith, t 3 

Suporintendcnt of public iiistructicm. 

Carl Feinse, d 495 

Newton Bateman, r 762 

D. Wilkins, t 3 

Slieriff. 

S. M. Adams, r 665 

E.B.Lyon, d 581 

Coroner. 

P. P. Johnson, r 490 

.James Culbertson, i 40(5 

Madison Winn, d 348 

state rt»nate. 

Lucien H. Kerr, r 691 

jMark Bangs, r 766 

J. W. Cochran, d 514 

W. E. Cook, d 494 

Lucien E. Kerr, error... 49 

Ileiire-entalive. 

31. A. Fuller, r 759 

James M. Rogers, d 496 

('oiii;r''SK at larg-. 

•John A. Logan, r 763 

Wm, B. Anderson, d... 495 
J. W. Nicholson, t 3 

E. C. Ingersoll, r 547 

B. N. Stevens, d ;. 586 

F. B. Ives, t 63 

November 7, ls71. 

Congress at laree. 

John L. Beveridge, r.... 640 
Samuel S. Hays, d 343 

'""Edwin Butler, r 615 

John Anthony, d 351 



AND ITS PIOXEERS. 



303 



TrOiisnrcr. 

II. J.])ickmson, r 489 

(jreo. Nicholas, d 48(> 

Alex. Hepperly, i -J 

November 5, 187:^. 

I'rch^iclcnt. 

Grant, r 1218 

Greeley, 1. r (50(5 

O'Connor, d -J 

flovoriior. 

R. J. Oglesby, r 1217 

Gustavus Koerner, 1. r.. G(3.') 
Sid ney Breese, d 5 

Lieutfiiant-giiveriKii'. 

(J. L. Beveridge, r 1221 
Charles Black, 1. d G(« 
S. B. Allen...; (5 
B. S. Storrs, d ') 
ecretarv of state. 
Geo. H. Harlow, r 1218 
Edward Runiniel, 1. r.. G(>4 
J. W. Wallace 7 
Ethan Sutton, d 5 

Auditor. 

C. E. Lippencott, r 1192 

Daniel O'Harra, 1. d 670 

O. E. Burch G 

C. H. Weitman , d 5 

1 state treasurer. 

' Edward Rutz, r 1220 

1 C. H. Lanphier, 1 GG4 

I Geo. Dietrich 7 

Henry West, d 4 

Attornev-general. 

JasK. Edsall, r 1219 

John V. Eustace, 1. d... 6G8 

J John O. Robinson 7 

I Geo. A. Meach, d 4 

I Board of eciualization. 

I Rufus W. Miles, r 1222 

I Sam'lP. Marshall, 1. d.. GG9 

I <'lerk of su|)renu> court. 

Ckiro D. Trimble, r 1228 

Eli Smith, 1 GG4 

J. K. Malburn, d 5 

J Congre.<!<. 

' N.E.Worthington,l.r.. 677 

Granville Barrere, r 1210 

J. H. Nicholas, d 4 

State senate. 

L. B. Whiting, r 1213 

Milo Kendall, 1 668 

Represcut.itive. 

Cyrus Bocock, r 1864 



.loab R. Mulvane, r....l884] 
M. R. Dewey, I. r 194G} 

Circuit clerl<. 

J. M. Brown, r 1144 

H. J. Cosgrove, 1. r 697 

tjheriff. 

S.M. Adams, r 1138 

' E. B. Lyon, 1. d 746 

states attorney. 

J. H.' Miller, r 1156 

P. M. Blair, 1. r 697 

Coroner. 

P. P. Johnson, r 1165 

W. T. Hall,l. r 662 

James Culbertson,i 43 

June 3, 1873. 

Circuit judge. 

Henry B. Hopkins, r.... 420 
J. W.' Cochran, a.m.d.... 27;*> 
Henry W. W^ells, i 76 

Suiirenie judge. 

C. B. Lawrence, r 470 

A. M. Craig, a.m.d 299 

November 4, 1873. 

County judge. 

W. W. Wright, r 762 

D. Lowman, a.m.r 688 

County clerk. 

David Walker, r 787 

J. Armstrong, a.m.r 659 

County treasurer. 

Orlando Brace, r 733 

G.W.Nicholas, a.m.d... 709 

County superintendent schools. 

Alonzo Abbot, r 786 

E. H. Phelps,a.m 635 

November 3, 1874. 



779 



State treasurer. 

T. S. Ridgway, r 

David Gore, a.m.d 571 

state su]H'rinteudeut schools. 

Wm. B. Powell r 795 

S. M. Etter, a.m.r 55;i 

Cougi'css. 

R. H. Whiting, r 711 

L. E. Ross, a.m.d 630 

state senate. 

L. D. Whiting, r 773 

J. Benedict, a.m 574 

Itepreseiitative. 

A: G. Hammond, r 1298 



304 



STARK COUXTV 



Jonas H. Moore, r i)S7 

Davis Tjowman, a.m.r... !t<i7 

J. J. Herron,a.ni,d SKJ 

Slieriff. 

S. M. Adams, r S(;;} 

A. A. GingTich,a.ni.d... iSl 

Coroiifr. 

W. H. Butler, r SOI 

S. Griinshaw, a.m.r .')40 



November 2, 1875. 

I.Vriiiity trrusiiriT. 

Orlando Brace, r 400 

W. K. Fuller, 1. r 457 

roniity siivvoyor. 

Edwin Butler, r ."ioi 

John II. Oo-le, 1. d 487 



PRESIDENTIAL VOTE. 

1840. 

Harrison, \v 187 

Van Buren, d ir)4 

1844. 

Polk, d 20G 

Clay,\v 187 

Birney, a 38 

1848. 

Tavlor, w 214 

Cass,d 174 

Van Buren, f.s 84 

1852. 

Pierce, d... 350 

Scott, w 33(; 

Hale, f. s 82 



185(). 

Buchanan, d 353 

Fremont, r 718 

Fillmore, Am 152 

1800. 

Lincoln, r 1 104 

Douglas, d 05!> 

Breckinridge, d 1 

Bell, Am 23 

1804. 

Lincoln, r 1174 

McClellan,d .'. 013 

1808. 

Grant, r 1394 

Seymour, d 705 

1872. 

(irant, r 1218 

Greeley, 1 OOG 



AND ITS nOXEERS. SOO' 



80L13IEES' KECOED, 



SEVENTH INFANTRY. 

COMPANY B. 

Captain — Hugh J. C'oso-rove, Stark county, enlisted March 7, 1865. 
First Lieutenant — Geoi-ge H. Martin, Toulon, March 7, '65. 
Sergeant — Anch-ew Nelson, Goshen, February, '65. Isaiah V. 

Bates, Toulon, February, '65. 
Corporal — Alexander Headley, Toulon, February, '65. Henry 

Stauffer, Toulon, February, '65. 

Privates — Enlisted February 1865 — Jacob Bogard, Oliver Boggs, 
Patrick Philben (deserted), Henry II. Witcher, William Zuniwalt, 
Penn; AViUis Burgess, Henry PI. Ballentine, Silas Chappel, Thos. 
Dawson, John Dawson, Henry Duckworth, John L. Foulk, Wm. 
W. Isenberg, James I^. .larman, George H. Martin (i)romoted), 
John Otto, Franklin Pratt, John Rouse, Henry Rouse, Mason 
Stauffer, William Shipley, Edward H. Trickle, Toulon ; Thomas 
H. Crowe, John Garvin, John Martin (died at Louisville, June 
21, 1865), Timothy Ratclitf, Stephen Timmons, Jotham K. Tay- 
lor (promoted), David White, Benjamin Witter, Jasper Graves, 
Essex. 

FOURTEENTH RE-ORGANISED. 

Company C. — Privates — Enlisted February, 1865 — Michael Ca- 
sey, Thomas Doyle (deserted), James Maloney (deserted), Frank 
Williamson, Goshen. Co. E. — Thos. .J.Marshall (deserted), .lohn 
Norris (deserted), (loshen. Company G'. — Livingston Sharrach, 
AVest Jersey. Company JL — Cori)oral Samuel A. Patten, Goshen. 

20 ' 



306 STARK COUNTY 

NINETEENTH INFANTRY. 

COMI'AXY D. 

Captain — Chas. Stewart, Osceola, enlisted July 30, 1801. Uesigned 
Julv IT), ISGij. Alexander Murchisoii, jr.," Elmira. Promoted 
Julv lo, lSG-\ 
First"^ Lieutenant— Stephen W. Kill, Ehnira, .July 30, 1861. Re- 
signed Xoveml)er 29, 18(51. Alexander Mureliisoii, jr., Ehnira, 
Novcnher 30, 18G1. I'romoted. William .Jacivson, Ehnira, 
.July lo, 18(52. 
Second Lieutenant^ — Alex. Mnrchison, jr., Eimira, .July 3(), 1861. 
Promoted. Wm. .Jackson, l'>lmira, November 30, LS61. Pro- 
moted. .John II. Hunter, I]lnura, .July 1-3, 18(52. Died .January 
!), 1S(5 !. Jolm T. Thorntoii, Eimira, January 0, 18(53. 
First Sergeant — John S. Pashley, I^lmira, June, 1861. Promoted. 
Serye-ants — William Jackson, Eimira, June 17, 18(51. Promoted. 
John FI. Hunter, Eimira, June 17, '(51. Promote<l. James (>. 
J5oardaian, Jilmira, June 17, '61. James ]\Fon tooth, Modena,^ 
June 17, '61. Discharg-ed for disal)ility, jNhirch 13, '(52. 
Corpora'.s — James .Jackson, l^imira, June, '(51. Promoted. Killed 
near ]>alton, G'a., Feb. 23, '64. Charles II. Brace, Eimira, June, 
'61. Promoted. Discharged for disability. Robert A. Tuni- 
hull, J]lnura, June, '(51. J^romoted. Joseph Blanchard, Eimi- 
ra, Ju le, '61. Reduced. .Jolm (J. Jjamper, Stark county, .June, 
'61. Discharged for disability. Thomas Robinson, Eimira, 
June, '61. I'romoted; discharged Feb. '(53; wounded. .John T. 
Tiiornton, Eimira, .June, '61. l^romoted. George 13. Hutchin- 
son, (),;ceola, June, '(51. Discharged Nov. '(52; disability. 
Musicians — Isaiali V. Bates, Toulon, June, '61. Isaac M.Spencer, 
■ Osceol:'., June, '61. 
AVago'.ie;- — John Douglass, Stark, county, .June, '61. 

Privates — Enlii ted .June, 1861 — James Atherton, .John Q. Ad- 
ams (promoted I, David W. Aldrich (discharged), David Allen, 
Frederick; 1*. lil;)om, .Jolm Bourk (dishonorably discharged), 
Charles Black well (wounded; died at Chattanooga October 14th, 
'»j3), Henry 13urro\vs, (died at Louisville, A{)ril 0, '62), Jjcmuel D, 
}>uJlis, (discharged March, '63), Walter Clark, (transferre;! to Ve- 
teran Reserve C(>rps), James Cinnamon (promoted), .Julius A. 
Case, AMiliam A. <'ade, De Forest Chamberhun (promoted), Leon- 
ard C. Drawyer, Henry Drury, Chester P. Harsh, (corporal, died 
at ]Murfreesb<.)ro;]gh, Ai)ril 11, '(53), William Ingles, idiedat Nash- 
ville, October 31, '62), Edward 31. Jordan, (sergeant, died at 
Chattanooga, October o, '63), .John L. Kennedy, (promoted), Rob- 
ert T, Si'ott, Thorn is Turnbull, (discharged for wounfls), Henry B. 
Worth, ([)romo'ed), J-]Imira. .John J31ackburn, (discharged for 
disability), Geo. Dugan, (discharged for wounds), Philip S. Galley, 
(transferred to A^. R. C., January 2-"'), '64), Springer Galley, (pro- 
moted;!, William .Johnson, Wm. H. Newcomer, (discharged for dis- 
ability), G >orge H. Stone, Toulon. Jsaac Banister, (discharged 
for disability), He\ry F. Davison, (discharged), Osceola. Aaron 
T. Courier, i discharged for disability), Owen Carlin, (died at Nash- 
ville, Oct. 31, '62), Francis Crowden, Geo. Crowden, (discharged for 
■disability), .Jason C-, Duncan, (do , William Douglas, Edward 



AND ITS PIOXEEES. 2(f7 

Ervin, (wounded at Dalton, Ga., February, '04), Adam G. Fell^ 
(discharj^ed to re-enlist), William H. Flemming, (diseharoed for 
«lisability), Charles Greenfield (wounded and discharged), Reuben 
Gardiner (discharged, disability), Wesley Hall, James Iluckins, 
Alfred S. Hurinent (disability), Ernold Kempion, Isaac Kenyoii, 
(killetl at Stone River) Alonzo Luce, Charles N. Leason, (killed at 
Stone River, December 81, '()2), John M. Lamper, James Merril, 
Sanuiel ]Montooth, Joseph C. Meigs, Daniel J. Moon, ('ojnforfc 
Morgan, Columbus Morgan, (died at Murfreesboro, January 7, 
H'hi; wounds), Cornelius ^lorgan, (died at Pilot Knob, Missouri, 
September b"), '01,) Creorge Miller, John McSherry, AVilliam N. 
Nelson, Joseph N. Park, George N, Ryerson, (killed at Stone riv- 
er, Jaiuiary 2, '08), (xeorge P. Richer, George T. Sharrer, (wound- 
ed at Stone river, December 31, '02), Henry C. Shull, (discharged 
July S, '02), John O. Spaulding, Elijah N. Terwilliger (Company 
i )), "Albert Terwilliger (Company D.), Amos Vinson (V. R. C), 
Lewis Williams, John Webber, Edwin D. Way, (discharged for 
disabilitv, Julv, '02), James (). Imes (killed at Stone River, Dec. 
81, '(;2s Stark County. 

Recruits— Urban Coon, August, '01, Lewis Corsan, June, '01, 
(discharged for disability, Se])tember, '01), Asa Clark, September, 
'01, (discharged to re-eniist), George ('omstock, July, '01, (died at 
L(»uisville, October, 2i>, '01 1, Ijconard D. Henderson, June, '01, 
Willard Jordan, November, '(il, (killed at Chickamauga, Scpten:- 
ber 20, '()8), ^Madison I^insley, June, '01, (missing), Joseph IVI. Ijea- 
cox, September, '(^2, (V. R. ('. ), John McConchie, September. '02, 
James H. Turnbull, September, '02, (transferred H. Q. 14th A, C. ) 
Stark County. Adrian Coon, August, '(51, 'deserted), Frank Uor- 
rigan, June,' '01, (killed at Pulaski. Tennessee, May 2, '(>2), Wil- 
liam Imes, Octol)er, '01, (killed at Reynold's Station, August 27, 
'02), John Imes, June, '01, Martin Imes (promoted), Elmira. Ro- 
bert Fell, September, '02, (discharged to re-enlistj, Thomas W. 
Oziah. July, '01, (transferred to H. Q. 14th A. C), Fred H. Whit- 
aker, June, '01, Toulon. David Jackson, September, '62, (trans- 
ferred to II. Q. 14th A. C.), Osceola. 

('( •JlPANY [C— ItECPvUIT.S. 

James Atherton, Elmira, .lune, '01, (discharged for disability), 
Wesley Hall, Stark County, June, '01, (veteranized), John Mc- 
Sherry, Stark county, June, '01. 

( '( >M PAN" Y D.— RKCPv UITS. 

Elijah W. Terwilliger, Albert Terwilliger (deserted), Stark 
tiiuuty, June, '01. 

TWENTIETH INFANTRY. 

SITHSTITITES AND DUAFrKD MKN. 

Co. B.— Wm. liorder, Zelotas Kendall, Goshen. Se])t., 80, '(;4. 
Co. I). — William Keei»er, (drafted) Toulon, Calvin \''ul'^amot, 
(drafted) Essex, September, '04. Co. E. — .lames Farrell, .Ian., 
'(>"), Philip (iraves, Edward (^lish. Essex, October, '04, Fiidey (:. 
McClellan, Elmira, Septtmber, '(J4, Herman Shrader, \'alley, 



308 STARK COUNTY 

♦September, '(54. C'o. F.— Thomas Graves, Essex, September, '(54. 
Co. I.— Michael Flinn, Toulon, January, '(io, William H. Little, 
(drafted j West Jersey, September, '64."^ 

THIRTY-THIRD INFANTRY. 

COMPANY B. 

Regimental Band— Charles Green, George A. Lowman, Toulon, 
August, '61. 

Captain— C. Judson Gill, January 23, '(38. Resigned September 
23, '(53. Nelson G. Gill, Toulon, Septeml)er 23, '63. 

First Lieutenant— C. Judson Gill, Toulon, Sei)tember, '61. Pro- 
moted. Nelson G. Gill, Toulon, January, '(53. Promoted. 

Second Lieutenant— Nelson G. Gill, Toulon, September, '(52. Pro- 
moted. Newton G. B. Brown, Wyoming, August, '65. Vete- 
ranized and promoted to 1st lieutenant. 

First Sergeant— Nelson G. Gill, Toulon, August, '61. 

<'orporal— Walter T. Flail, Toulon, August, '61. Promoted. 
Privates— Enlisted August 20, '61— Jesse Armstrong, William 

Biggs (veteranized), George Dewey, George Fezler, Charles Green, 

(transferred to band), Murray Hotchkiss, (died at St. Louis, Dec. 

20, '61), Edward H. Ingraham, (veteranized), Charles S. Johnson, 
(died at Ironton, Mo., February 6, '63), George Lowman (transfer- 
red to band I, William J. R. Mayo, (veteranized), Andrew McKee 
<died at Pocahontas, Ark., May 3, '6'^), Charles Shinn (veteraniz- 
ed), Toulon. Lewis Thomas (clischarged for disability, December, 
'62), Newton G. B. Brown (veteranized), W^yoming. Daniel Don- 
ovan (veteranized), Harrison W. Ellis, Penn. 

Recruits— Calvin Butler, Februarv21, '(55, (^tis T. Dver, Toulon, 
February 10, '(>5, Levi T. Ellis, Penn, March 30, 'Ooj^ Walter A. 
Fell, Elmira, February 11, '64, (see 124th Illinois,) Hugh Y. God- 
frey, Toulon, February 21, '(j5, Alvin Galley, Toulon, March 20, 
^(54, (see 124th Illinois), Charles C. Hotchkiss, Toulon, February 

21, '65, Thomas W Rule, Elmira, February 11, '64, (see 124th Illi- 
nois), Sanford Strowbridge, Elmira, January 28, '(55, (supposed 
died April 10, '65, of wounds), John H. Stickney, Toulon, Februa- 
ry 10, '65, Andrew Turnbull, Elmira, February 11, '64, (see 124 
Illinois). 

Company K. — John Peterson, Wyoming, December 0, '61, (vet- 
eranized), Adam Rush, Wyoming, 'December 9, '61, (discharged 
for disability). 

THIRTY-SEVENTH INFANTRY. 

Sergeant-Maj or— Fayette Lacey, Goshen, August 19, '65, (reduced 
to ranks of Co. B. 

COMPANY n. 

Captain— Charles V. Dickinson, Goshen, x\ugust 19, '(51. 

First-Lieutenant—Cassimir P. Jackson, Goshen, August 19, '61. 
Resigned July 9, '62. Francis A. Jones, Goshen, July 9, '62. 
Luman P. Himes, Goshen. Veteranized and promoted First- 
Lieutenant. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. sSO!) 

J^econd Lieutenant — Francis A. Jonos, (xoslien, August 10, '01. 

Promoted. David L. Ash, .July !», '02. ' 
Sergeants — David L. Ash, (xosheii, August 19, '61. Promoted to 
Second-Lieutenant. William IS'. Perry, Goshen, August 1!), '61. 
Died at .St. Louis, December 1, '61. Fayette Lacey, Goshen, 
August 1!), '61. Promoted Sergeant-Major. 
<*orporals— Oliver S. llisdon, Goshen, April 19, '61. Sergeant, 
transferred to corps d'Af., September 27, '68. Thomos J. Mc- 
Daniel, Goshen, August 19, '(Jl Sergeant, died at ('assville, 
jNIo., .June 9, '62. Lunian P. Himes,doshen, August 19, '61. 
Veteranized. Chilion B. Redfield, Goshen, August 19, '61. 
Died at Gassville, Mo., .Tune 9, '()2. .Joshua S. Dudley, Goshen, 
August 19, '61. .JamesS. Lundv, Goshen, August 19, '61. John 
A. Perry, Toulon, August 19, '(!1. Died atOtterville, Mo., Jan- 
uary 18*, '62. \Vm. Nicholson, Toulon, August 19, '62. Died at 
St. Louis, November 2(5, '61. 
Musician — George Ransom, (ioshen, August 19, '61. 

Privates— Enlisted August, 1861— John Anderson, (veteranized), 
Aaron S. Anshutz, Andrew Anderson, (discharged for wounds), 
AVilliam W. Atkins, David Anshutz, (veteranized), Alva W. 
Brown, William 11. Barney, (veteranized), William W. liryan, 
(killed at I^rairie Grove, Arkansas, December 7, '(52), Joseph liar- 
low, (died at New Orleans, May 6, '64), John C'harleson, I^ucius 
Church, (discharged P\4iruary 14, '62), William H. Craig, Wil- 
liam T. Dickinson, P^ldridge li. Driscoll, (died at New Orleans, 
September o, '68 1, Michael jNL J^^mery, John A. Eddy, Martin 
Fitch, Matthew T. Godfrey, (died at Brownsville, Texas), Charles 
F. Himes, (veteranized), Norman Ives, (discharged for wounds), 
Moses S. .Jones, (veteranized, and discharged for disability), CJeo. 
W. Ivirby, (veteranized), Daniel Iviem, Julius Ivelsey, (veteraniz- 
ed), Anthony Ivennard, (veteranized), Alvin Iviem, Dennis Lee, 
(discharged for wounds), Thomas K. l^ake, (veteranized), James 
E. JiCe, (killed at I*ea Uida-e, Arkansas, March 7, '62), Chauncey R. 
;Miner, Jienjaniin H. Morgan, (died at Springfield, Mo., Novem- 
ber 26, '02), Ira Newton, (veteranized), William J. Noran, J)avid 
Nowlan, William M. Pilgrim, Edward Perkins, Robert C. Reed, 
(died at Otterville, Mo., October 28, '61), John Reed, George W. 
Rouse, (First U. S. Artillery), John Saekrisson, Henry Sipe, 
Jienry W. Wilbur, Martin Wilcox, (veteranized), Goshen. Hen- 
ry B. Dexter, (veteranized), Elmira. Luther Fitch, Thomas 
Hughes, West Jersey. Cummings Force, Hartford J. Rowe, (vet- 
eranized), Samuel W. Young, (veteranized), Toulon. 

Recruits- Joseph H.Newton, February 6, '65, David W.Snyder, 
April 24, '64, Goshen. 

FORTY-SECOND INFANTRY. 

RKCKllTS. 

Co. B.— Henry Royle, Osceola, September 29, '(54. Co. D.— John 
W. Shoemaker,' Stark county, (killed at Marietta, Georgia, June 
1"), '64, Frank Horn, James Hall and Rol)ert Miller, Osceola, Sep- 
tember, 80, '(J4. Co. F.— Amos Hodges, Sanuiel P. Hankins, 
We^t Jersey, September 80, '04, Cyrenus Dewey, Case D. Dubois, 



SIO STAllK COUNTY 

"Valley, Sept'mlier 80. \'A. Co. K.— Silas Avery, Osceola, Seijtem- 
ber 30, '04, Mordecai Bevier, Oswola, September oO, 'G4, Joseph G. 
Fowler, Osceola, Sei'leitiher 80, '(',4, (died Dec. 21, '(M, wounds), 
iSprlnger Oalley, snlis^itutej, Thonuih W. (,)ziah, (substitute)j 
Toulon, September, 14, '01, 

FORTY-SEVEXTH INFANTRY. 

I'O.AU'ANV A. 

Second-Lieutenant — Charles S. Blood, Lawn Ridge, June 17, '02. 

Sergeants — Charles S. Blodd, Lawn Ridge, August KJ, 02. Pro- 
moted 2d Lieutenant. 
Privates — Benj. Amenl, Stark county, August 10, '01, Benj. F. 

Ellis, Wyoming, August lu, '01, ( veteranized, transferred toCo. C, 

47th consolidated. 

co:,:i>axy; d. 
Privates —Enlisted August, isoi— Xathaniel Childs, (died iiv 
Stark county. Illinois, February 10 '04), \Villiani Crow, Perry 
Kent, (died at Jefferson City, Mo., November 10, '01), John Mc- 
Kiunon, ^Vnl. W, Stewart, (discbarged for disability. Camp 
Grove, Albert (1. Conley, (discharged for disability), Alva AV. 
Sturdevant, (discharged for disability;. (:)sceola. Robert David- 
son, (promoted'. Stark county. Wm. R. Kiger, (discharged for 
<lisabilityj, Robert S. Martin, Allen H.Spellnian,i died at Young's 
Point, La., July !>, '08 1, Abraham Vandusen, (died at St. Louis, 
October 25, '01), Bradford. James Richart, (deserted), Fuller'^ 
Mill. 

COMPANY H. 

Privates — James Drummond, Camp Grove, September, 1, '01, 

COMPANY K. 

Captains — .Jacob Jamison, Toulon, August, '01. Resirned ^Nlarcli 
20, '02. David DeWolf, Essex, March, '02. John M. Brown^ 
Wyoming, September '02, 

First- Lieu ten a nt^ — David DeWolf, Essex, August, '61, Promoted. 
.James A, Henderson, Toulon^ not mustered. Resigned as 2d 
Lieutenant, June 10, (52. .John M, Brown, AVyoming, .June, 
'62, Promoted. William IL Denchfield, Wyoming, October, 
1862. 

Second Jjieutenant — Wm. II, Denchfield, Wyoming, March^ ^61,. 
Promoted. John Hawks, Wvoming, October, '62. Resigned 
April '04. 

First-Sergeants — J, M, Brown, Wyoming, September, '61, Pro- 
moted 1st Ijieutenant. 

Sergeants — Philip A. Templeton, Toulon, September, '61. Dis- 
charged for disal)ility. Wm, H, Denchfield, Wyoming, Sep- 
tember '01, Promoted 2d Lieutenant. Charles Butler, Wyo- 
ming, September, '01. Elisha Dixon, Wyoming, September, 
'61. Promoted 1st Sergeant. 

Corporals — Adam Torrence, Toulon, September, '01. Killed at 
Vicksburg, May 22, '03, Charles D. Paul, Toulon, September,. 
'01, Diecl at Rienzi, Mississippi, August, '62. Joseph VY. Jam- 



AXD ITS PIONEERS. 31t 

Ison, Toulon, Septeinl)er, '(31. Died at Toulon, Illinois, ]Nrareh 
•2d, '(52. Henry Dixon, P^ssex, Soptenilu'r, 'HI. Serj^vant, dis- 
eharged for wounds. D. AV. Davis, Essex, Sei)teinl)er, ')U. 
Promoted. Henry Hixon, Essex, Sejjteniher, '(Jl. Veteraniz- 
ed. Charles Ednunids, Wyoniinji', Sei)teniber, '<)1. 
AVafi'oner — John H. Waller, Wyoming, September, '(51. Dis- 
charji'ed. 

Privates — Enlisted September, 18(51— James Alderman, (dis- 
charged , Hiram Boardman, (killed at luka, IMiss., Sej)tember !",>, 
■'(SL'), Allen Challee, INIiles Cohvell, (promoledi, llossCoiwell, John 
■G. White, (diseharg-ed for disabilityj, Essex. Henry Allen, (pro- 
^noted), John Harler, Joel Dixon, ^^'illiam Dixon, Carson W. 
Drummond, (died at .Jeflerson City, Mo., January (5, '(52), William 
Dailey, Jasper Doleson, Samuel El)y, (die<l in Stark county, Illi- 
nois, 'September n, '(5o), Geo. W. 'Ellis, (died at JeH'erson City, 
]Mo., November 2S, 'Gl), Andrew Eutzler, Jacob Hutchinson, (died 
at St. Louis, October 27, '(52), Daniel Howard, (sergeant, died at 
.^Iemi)his, June 2;!, '(52; wounds), SylvesterSylcott, (veteranized), 
Edward Somers, (discharged for wounds), Darton Thurston, Wy- 
oming. Ben.j. Jilackburn, (deserted), Thomas Cross, (deserted), 
George A. ("lifford, (discharged for disability), Amos Cornish, 
(discharged for disability), Oliver Crowder, William Cross, (dis- 
charged as corporal, INIarch 11, 'G8, to enlist in INIississippi Marine 
Brigade), Rober Garner, (discharged for wounds), James W. Jar- 
nagin, (died at Alexandria, La., May 31, '(54), James Kinkade, 
(veteranized), George H. Martin, David (_)ziah, (veteranized), Jes- 
se West, (died at Jefferson City, ^Nlo., February 2(5, 'G2), Toulon. 
Willson Boggs, (veteranized), Charles Goodrich, (veteranized), 
Penn. Lewis Egbert, Theodore W. McDaniei, (discharged for 
disability), Joseph Witter, ^\'est Jersey. Daniel Fast, (died at 
St. Louis, July 12, 'G2), John Hum, Slackwater. Daniel McCra- 
dv, ^"allev. .James T. Marshall, (died at Jefferson City, Mo., Oc- 
tober 27, 'GD, Bradford. 

Recruits — Secratus Drummond, Wyoming, August, 'G-1, [see Co. 
B., 47th consolidated], John D. E!)y, Wyoming, December 7, 'Gl, 
[discharged for wounds], George llachtel, [see Co. B. 47 co'iisol- 
idatedl, Oscar G. Hixon, Valley, February 11, 'G4, [see Co. P.. 47 
consolidated], Charles S. Plitchcock, Modena, October 21, 'Gl, [dis- 
charged], John Hawks, Wyoming, ])eceml)er 7, '(51, ] promoted 
to sergeant and 2d lieutenant j, William Jamison, Toulon, [diedat 
INIiliken's Bend, July, 19, 'G8l, Roliert Lambert, Toulon, Decem- 
ber 7, '(il, [left in the field with veterans |, Tiiomas Nichols, Wyo- 
liiing, October 21, '(51, [discharged for (lisal)ility|, Rol>ert Pyles, 
Toulon, December 7, [left in the field with vetenuis], George F. 
Pyles, Toulon, December 7, 'Gl, [discharged for disability], John 
E, Thrall, Toulon, December 7, 'Gl, [discharged for wounds[, Rob- 
ert L. Wright, Wyoming, December 7, 'Gl, [deserted [. 



312 STARK COUXTY 

FORTY-SEVENTPI CONSOLIDATED. 

COMPANY A. 

Recruits — "Richard Lynch, Toulon, November 18, '63, [from 
lOSth IllinoisJ, James B. Riley, Stark county, March 31, 'Go, [from 
l(J8th Illinois. 

COMPANY B. 

Captain— Henry AViar, Wyoming, October 11, '04. 

First-Lieutenant — \Vm. IJoggs, Penn, October 11, 'G4. 

Corporals — Henry AViar, Wyoming, October 22, 'G4. Promoted to 

Captain. 

Privates — Enlisted February, 1864— Wilson Boggs, [promoted 
1st lieutenant], Charles Goodrich, George W. AValdon, Penn. J. 
Bates, [promoted], Secratus Drummond, Sylvester Sylcott, Jacob 
Wiar, Michael Wiar, Wyoming, George Hachtel, James Kin- 
kade, David Oziah, Toulon. Oscar G. Hixon, Valley. Henry 
Hixon, Essex. 

C03IPANY C. 

Corporal— Benjamin F. Ellis, Wyoming, February 22, '64. Was 
prisoner. 

COMPANY E. 

Sergeant^Philip C. Scott, Toulon, February 21, '05. 
Corporal— Bernard Hogan, West Jersey. 

Privates — Enlisted P'ebruary, 1805— Charles Byrne, [deserted], 
Thomas Byrne, [deserted], John Keely, [deserted], Goshen. 
William Conklin, [deserted], Charles Hall, [deserted]. West Jer- 
sey. James Farrell, [deserted], Toulon. Robt. Keusler, [desert- 
ed], Essex. 

COMPANY H. 

Privates — Enlisted March, 18(>5 — George Edwards, [dishonora- 
bly discharged], John Hartley, [deserted], Daniel Hogan, [desert- 
ed [, Charles McBride, [deserted], William Welch, [deserted], 
West Jersey. 

COMPANY I. 

Privates — Enlisted March, 1865 — .John Burns, Abram Londen- 
burgh, Theodore VanDyke, Elmira. Daniel Ballard, Goshen. 

COMPANY K. 

Sergeant — xVlbert Papenoe, Elmira, March 0, '65. Died at Dem- 

opolis, Ala., July 5, '65. 
Corporals — Alexander Davis, Elmira, March 0, ^6i^. Alexander 
Sames, West Jersey, March 3, '05. George W. Sailer, West Jer- 
sey, March 3, '05. 
Wagoner — Robert Lambert, Essex, March 3, '65. 

Privates— Enlisted March, 1805— David Biddleman, [died at 
Demopolis, Alabama, June, 15, '05], Thomas J. Fuller, Stephen 
H. Jackson, Enoch Noble, Simon Watson, Hasleb W. Wilson, 
Elmira. Thomas Fryman, Samuel A. Glassford, Samuel S. Glass- 
ford, [died at Selma,'Ala., August 15, 1805], Robert Sames, West 
Jersey. John W. Morrison, P^ssex. 

Unassigned recruits — Joseph A. O. Donnell, Elmira, December 
2, '04, [rejected by Board]. 



AND ITS I>lf)XKi:ilS. 313- 

FIFTV-FIRSr IXFANTllY. 

Adjutants— (Vri'.s A. AntliDiiy, West Jersey, .TiHiuary i2I, '(M. 
Promoted to enptiiin, Cu. 1>. 

Q'liarter-nuister Herj,''eunt— t'yrus A. .Vntliony, West Jersey. Pro- 
moted 1st lieutenant Co. a. 

(•(i.Ml'A.NV iS. 

' Captain— Cyrus A. Anthony, West Jersey, August S, 'd.",. 

(•(i:\ii'.\NV c. 
First Lieutenant— Cyrus A. .Viitiiony, West .Jersey, Jusie l!7, '(!{. 
Promoted Adjutant. 

m ro.Ail'ANV H. 

P ]*rivates— Eidisted January, ]S():> — IIu<>ii Donnely, Eiison Eli, 

I veteranized, promoted!, Ki-iek From, [veteranized, ])romotedL 
James Kiimeman, Ja.mes Kennedy, .Josepli Pew, Idiseharg'edl^ 
Solomon Ji. Shockley, David Simmerman, Paul Ward, [veteran- 
ized, i)risoiit'r of war|, West.JcM'sey. Tliomas Imes, | veteranized }» 
Anthony Sturm, [veteranized, promcjted]. Pleasant (ireen. Cyr- 
us Ja''()l)s, [veteranized, promoted], Bradford. Charles W. Xew- 
ton, I promoted I, Wyomin<;". 

CiiMl'A.NV K. 

Privates — Cyrus A. Anthfmy, West Jersey, Xovenil)er, M, 'Gt, 
[veteranized, n.-om!)ted (luarter-master sergeant. 

]-^I FT Y-FI FT] [ ] N FA XTPv Y. 

ciou'Axv (;. 
Privates— Enlisted October, 18(J]—L. S. Coggswell, [veteraniz- 
! ed, promoteil [, (Jeorge W. Eekley, [died at Camp Sherman, ]Miss., 

' August s, '(i.'J], James A. Eekley, .Joseph C. Iliner, [veteranized, 

I ]tromoted], (Jeorge E. Witter, [veteranized, promoted [, West Jer- 

! sey. 

I FIFTY-SEVEXTir ILLINOIS. 

I' CO.MI'ANV F. 

' I*rivate<— Enlisted S(i)tember, IMfil- Tlu)mas J. Plake, [veter- 

anized!, Jan)es Kelly, [ veteranized |, Joseph Manning, [killed £vt& 
Shiloh, April (!, '(;2|."^ 

eciMPANV K. 

Privates— Enlisted September, 'i;i— Thos. C. Xieho'.s, Jame> 
Xieliols, Osceola, [discharged |. 

SIXTY-FlFTir. 

COMPANY A. 

J*rivates— Enlisted March, 18()i>— James K. Allan, [veteranized 
in Co. ]r. |, Wyoming. Josejih Bogard, P]zekiel Bogard, [veter- 
aiuzed in (V), JL[, Asa (Jreentield, Hubert II. Hitchcock, [veter- 
anized in Co. n.|, Stark county, lietbuel Greenfield, [veteraniz- 
ed in Co. ir.l, Sylvester (}reenfie!d, | \'eteranized in Co. 1I.J, .Mo- 
dena. 

21 



ol4 STARK CdUXTY 

COMPANY 1). 

Privates— Eulistofl Mareli, lSw2— Finney IVIrLellan, [dosortodl, 
Elniira. AVm. W. Updike, Daniel P. White, [veteranized Co. 11. |» 
West Jeriiey. 

CUJIl'AXV (i. 

Corpora] — John Richer, O.seeola, March, '02, V. P. C, Septeni- 

))er :^0, 'G4. 

Privates — Enlisted April, 18G2 — Wn^.. II. Ausmau, [musician;, 
James F. Ausman, .Joseph llicher, [veteranized in Co. B., consol- 
idated!, Osceola. George Maxfield, [discharged for disabilityj, 
Toulon. 

Cn?,iPA\V I. 

Krst-I^ieutenant— Geo. II. Brown, Modena, June 26, '(51. Not 

mustertd. 
Second- Lieutenant — Geo. II. Brown, jNIodena, April 1, '08. Pro- 
moted. 
Sergeant — Geo. H. BroM"n, ]Modena, February 12, '02. Promoted 

2d lieutenant. 
Corporal— James K. Oziah, Modena, February 12, '02. 

Privates— Enlisted ]March, 1802 — Stephen s". Burnham, [desert- 
ed], Pobt. Hennessy, [discharged for disabilityj, Fred K. Ket- 
zenberger, [discharged for disability], Wyoming.^ Isaac Bannis- 
ter, [N'^^.ll.C., Aprill, 'O.")], Chauncey Gardner, O'sro Huckins [vet- 
eranized], Henry C. Hall, [discharged for disability], Francis JNI. 
Steves, W. W. Weaver, [died in Georgia, June 15, '04; wounds], 
Osceola. Alfred Coruish, [ deserted [, ArtlunvR. Olds, [discharged 
for disabilityj, Wju. Shirts, [discharged for disabilityj, Toulon, 
.lames Dalryniple, Freeman P. Davison, [veteranizedj, Harmon 
Ilochstrasser, .James C. Powell, Sam'l C. Sharrer, [discharged for 
disability [, Robert W. Wood, [deserted], Modena. Alexander C. 
Lord, Elmira. 

Recruits — I^nlisted August, 1862 — Benjamin Blackburn, [de- 
serted], John Whitcher, Wyoming. Geo. W. Pate, (deserted), 
Toulon. Harvey L. Way, [discharged], Osceola. 
Unassigned recruit — Peter Iselson, Osceola, May, 'Of. 

SIXTY-FIFTH CONSOLIDATED. 

co:*u'AXY a 
Sergeant — David L. .Jones. 
Corporal — Joseph W. Richer, Osceola. 
Private — Enlisted March, 1805 — David Woodard. 

C03IPANY F. 

First-Lieutenant — Elmer Sage, Essex, June 29, '05. 
Corporals— Frank L. Yale, Lafayette, March 28, '0-1. Luther Gra- 
ham, Toulon, November 21, '0.'5. 

Privates — Wm. A. Brown, December, '63, Martin Hickman, 
April, '63, Wm. .J. Hamilton, February, '03, Morris C. Lampson, 
December '63, Jacob W. McDaniel, March '04, Thomas Patterson, 
December '62, George W. Pate, December '02, Toulon. George 
A. Brown, July '(W, Melvin Gage, February, '04, Ira F. Hayden, 
February '03, Osceola. Ziieh. T. Brown, January '05, Goshen. 



AND ITS PIONEERS. 315 

Janios L. Yox, March 'Go, Adam KusJi, IMarcli, 'Ot, Ge()rij,e Rusli^ 
Janus M, Taekct, ]Nrari.'h, '04, Elisha E. Taylor, ]Mareh,' '04, An- 
son Tanner, :Maroh, '()4, Stephen Talbot, xVpril, '04, Wyoming. 
Aiulrew Jaekson, Mareli, '04, Lafayette. Wm. ,J. Lamper, 
]March, '04, Bradford. Hoiomon I^eigliton, March, '08, Isaac Luce,. 
March, '0^, Penn. .Tohn Lee, Marcli, 'Oo, Essex. BailyC. Ogden, 
March, '04, West Jersey. 

rOJIl'AXY H. 

Privates— James K. Allen, Wyoming-. Josepli Bogard, Robert 
LL IJitclicock, Stark. Bethuel Greenfield, Modoiia! Daniel P. 
White, West Jersey. 

COMPANY I. 

First Lieutenant — Geo. H. Brown, Modena. 

(OMPAW K. 

Privates — Freeman R. Davison, Modena. Ozro C. Huckins, 
Osceola. 

SIXTY-NINTH.— THREE months. 

CUJIPANY D. 

Corporals — Enlisted June, '62— Jedediah Luce, George W.Smith, 
Matthew Rounds, Lafayette. James Adams, West Jersey. 
Privates — Enlisted June, 1802 — Moses M. Adams, Robert Boyd, 
William IL Davidson, William Foster, Ranson D. Foster, Wilson 
Rounds, Lorenzo K. Wiley, West Jersey. Edward Brown, Tou- 
lon. AVilliam Bovvdea, Lucius Church, Algernon Fitch, Michael 
<Tillespie, Wm. Hamilton, Benjamin F. Lewis, Henry B. Lewis, 
George W. 31c Daniels, Edwin B. Pomroy, Edward Perry, .John 
W. Piounds, Jasper Smith, Wm. F. Wheeler, Theron Waller, La- 
fayette. INrichael Hum, David Himes, Slack water. Isaac M. 
Witter, Essex. 

Recruits— Enlisted June, 1802— George Pate, [deserted], Toulon. 
Frederick Ilussel, [deserted], Lafayette. 

SEVENTY-SECOND. 

rO.MPAXY A. 

Privates — Enlisted August, 180'^ — Miles Avery, [deserted], Ja- 
<'ob (Jalley, [promoted, was prisoner], Scepta T. "Harding, [killed 
at Vicksl)urg, 3[ay 22, '03J, James D. Heath, [promotedj, Robert 
Holmes, Toulon. 

EKillTY-SIXTH. 

COMPANY' E. 

<'ai)tain — < Jeo. A. Smith, Valley, July lo, '04. 

First-Iiieutenant^ — George A. Smith, Valley June, 15, 1803. Pro- 
moted. 

tSecond-Lieutenants— George A. Smith, Valley, June 11, '63. Pro- 
moted. Henry Foreman, Valley, June 12, 'OO. Not nnistered. 

Sergeants— ( reo. A. Smith, Valh'y, August 13, '02. Promoted 2d 
lieutenant, itc. 



31(5 STARK COUXTY 

Privates— Enlisted August, '02— Wni. Cooper, [died at Xasli- 
ville, Tennessee, January 13, '(58J, Joseph Carter, Wni. Dawson, 
I discharged I, llarvey rM)renian, |pronioted|, Alonzo Goodale, 
{discluvrgedl, John A. Joh, | promoted |, Andrew Xcliiig, [died of 
wounds, March 20, 'G")], Wni. F. Speers, | promoted |, James S. 
Schanlv, [died at Xashville, February 22, '(i;{|, Louis Woodward, 
Eli Wilson, [discharged!, Valley. Benton Carrington, [discharg- 
ed for wounds], Thomas Reader, James W. Reagan, [dischargedj, 
Tighlman 8. Reagan, Jacob Scleigli, Penn. 

Recruits — Enlisted February, l.S(U — James C. Hall, [transferred 
to Co. E., ;UthJ, John R. Waldron, |transferred to Co. PI, ;]4thl, 
Penn. 

('(i:mi'anv ]i. 

I\[usicians — Cyrus A. Fox, A'alley, .Vugust 7, '02. 

i-'rivates — Alexander R. Hepp'erly, Stark, August 0, 1802 [pro- 
moted. 

Recruits — .John .Jenkeson, Vallev, died of wounds, IMarch 20, 
1. %-■'>. 

NIXETY-THIRJ). 

Colonel — Nicholas C. BusWell, Osceola, Xovember, 2-'), '0:}. X'ot 

mustered. 
Lieutenant-Colonel — Nicholas C. Buswell, Osceola, Octol)er, lo '(;2. 

J^romoted. 

C(i?rPA\v u. 

Privates — Enlisted in August, 1S02— Thomas (loodwin, [died at 
Rome, Ga., October, 2"), '(>4, wounds], (ieorge Oardner, [killed at 
Vicksburg, ]May 22, '(i)?], William C. Flail, ]diedatMemi>his, Jan- 
uary 17, '03], Edgar TIall, [died at ]Mempliis, .March o, '03[, John 
Flellener, [died at Vicksburg, Se])tember <),'(;;], j Matthew I^an- 
ilen, [promoted], Seth E. Stoughton, Fred, Sclagter, Nathaii 
Thorn, [promoted], Morgan L. Weaver, [died at home, Xovem- 
ber, 21, '(;;]], Osceola. 

OXE HFXDREIJ AXD TWELFTH IXFAXTRY. 

Colonel — Thos .J. Flendersou, Toulon, September 22, '02. Promo- 
ted Brevet Brigadier Oeneral, Xovend)er 80, '(54. 

^^d.jutants— Bradford F. Thompson, Bradford, Xovember 2'), '03. 
I'romoted captain of Co. B. 

Surgeons — Luther S. Milliken, Wyoming, INlarch 22, '(53. 

First Assistant-Surgeon — Luther S. Milliken, Wyoming, Septem- 
ber 15, '02. Promoted. 

('(ori'Axv p.. 

•C;il>tains — James B. Doyle, Bradford, September, '02. Resigned 
3[arch, '03. Jonathan C. Dickinson, IVnn, March, '02. Killed 
S('i»tember, '(!3. Jolm Oudgell, Osceola, September, '03. Hon- 
orably discharged. Bradford F. Thompson, Bradford, Septem- 
ber, '05. 

First-Lieutenants — Jonathan C. Dickinson, Penn, September, '02. 
Promoted. John Oudgell, Osceola, March, '{)3. Promoted. 



I 



AND ITS PIOXEKIIS. ;]17 

Bradford F. Tlionipson, Bradford, Se[>tenibcr, 'G3. Projiiotcd 
Adjutant. William II. Doyle, Osceola, Xovember, '(>3. 
Second-I^ieutenants — .lohii (iud,u'ell, Osceola, September, 'i>-. 
Promoted. liradford F. Tliomi)SO!i, Bradford, March, '(j3. 
Promoted. Charles B. Foster, Bradford, .Tune, '(>;"). 
First tSei'geaiit — Bradford F. Thompson, Bradford, Aiig-r.st, '02. 

Promoted. 
Herg-eants— Enlisted August, 1862— C'has, B. Foster, P>radford. 
Commissioned 2tl lieutenant, but not mustered. William PI. 
Doyle, Bradford. Promoted. .John H. Bunnel, Penn. Died 
at 'Xashville, August 12, '(54; wounds, W'illard B. Foster, 
Bradford. 
Corporals — Enlisted August, 1SG2 — Eli C. Jones, Osceola. Ser- 
geant, died at ^Marietta, (la., August 19, '(34 ; wounds, (ieoi'ge 
\V. Reed, Osceola. Promoted. Nicholas Hill, Osceola. Pri- 
vate. Augustus O. Thompson, Osceola. Promoted. Edward 
J. Riley, Osceola. Paroled prisoner. 

Privates — Enlisted August, l.S(j2— Robert Alexander, [died at 
Knoxville, Tenn., I\Iay IG, '()4 ; A\()unds|, Orlin Bevier, [cor})or- 
al, died in Andersonviile, .July, '(54J, Charles 11. 13arber, |died at- 
r.Iarietta, (^a., Septend)er, '(JJ ; wounds], Geo. Barber, (discharg- 
ed for disability], Andrew J. Brode, fV. R. C, May IS, '04], Isaiic 
X. J)alrym[)le, |was taken prisoner], TlK^s. E. Delany, L'riah 
Dunn, [discharged for disability], Spencer Elston, |died at I^ex- 
ington. Ivy., l)ecend)er, '02, Enoch W. Foster, |discluirged for 
disability I, Morris I^"'ow!er, .John P. I'^reeman, | was prisoner], 
AVm. D. Freeman, [was prisoner], .Josej)h Flemming, Hiram P. 
<Teer, [discharged for disability], Henry 8. Hayden, [musician], 
James Hare, [discharged for disability], John Hall, T. Louis 
Hinke, [promoted], Peter Jones, |V. R. C., in '(54 ], George Jen- 
nings, .John R. Jones, [promoted[, AVilliam H. Johnson, [waM 
])risoner], Ijcvi AV. .Jones, James A. I-<ong, [promoted], Francis 
.J. l^eggett [prisoner of war], Wm. C. Loj^eman, George Ludluni, 
:died at Annapolis, Md., December, '(54 [, Horace Morrison, [pris- 
oner of war, never returned], Henry ]Mclvibbons [discharged 
for disabilitv], .John INIcLaughlin, [wagoner], Eber 8. Osborn [V. 
R. C., in '()4J, Lewis Osborn, John Olenburg, [promoted], Irwin 
Oxenberger, Jacob H. Perkey, Ira Porter, .James Partidge, [dis- 
charged for disability], Clark N. Sturtevant, [discharged for in- 
sanity], Alva W. Sturtevant, Henry Stacy, [was prisoner], Na- 
than D. Steward, [discharged for disability], Isaac Sturm, [V. R. 
C, in '(34], Cyrus Sturm, [died at Nashville, February, 'G5 ; 
wounds], .John Sturm, George W. Stone, [deserted[, Charles R. 
Thcmipson, .Joseph Taylor, .John "Wallace, William P. Wilson, 
Idied at Lexington, Ky., December 1.'), '(*)2|, Osceola. Charles N. 
Crook, [promoted], .James A. Goodrich, Washington Garside, Ed- 
win Holmes, [was prisoner], William Ilandley, C'harles IT. Han- 
dley, Charles Leighton, .John C. Leighton, Elias Miller, [killed at 
P^ranklin, Tenn., Novend)er 80, '(iJ], Orman N. Miller, Hiram P. 
Mallory, [promoted, was i>riso)ier|, Samuel Redding, DennisSpill- 
man, Penn. Ephraim (dedding, (deserted), Daniel Korre, (was 
prisoner), Fhnira. 
Recruits — Josei)h II. Baldwin, [deserted], George A. Brownj 



S18 STARK COUNTY 

I6.")th Illinois], Melvin Gajre, January, '65, [Cwth 111], Ira F. Hny- 
(len, February, 'GI, [(Mth 111., was prisoner], Osceola. William J. 
Lamper, Bradford, March, '64, [6oth Inf.], John Lee, Essex, May 
11, '6'), [65th Inf.], Isaac Luce, Penn, May 13, '65, Solomon Leigh- 
ton, Penn, May 13, ^Go, [65th Inf.] 

COMPANY I). 

Sergeants — Sanford L. Ives, Goshen, July, '62. V. R. C, Janua- 
ry, '65. 

Privates — Enlisted August, 1862 — Lemuel F. ^Mathews, [dis- 
charged for M^ounds], Whitfield I). ]\[athews, West Jersey. Hi- 
ram Newton, Goshen. 

Recruits — Stephen Talbot, Wyoming, April, '64, [transferred to 
Goth 111. 

COMPANY E. 

Captain— Sylvester Otman, Wyoming, September, '62. 
First-Lieutenant — Cramner W. ]3rown, Wvoming, Septeinber, 

1862. "' ^ 

Second-Lieutenaiits— Elmer A. Sage, Essex, September, '62. 65th 

111. Harry Graves, Essex, June, '65. 
First Sergeant — Henry J. Otman, Essex, August, '62. Discharg- 
• ed for disability. 
Sergeants — Enlisted August, '02 — Henry (Graves, Essex. Com- 
missioned as 2d lieutenant, but not mustered. Solomon Dixon, 
Valley. Died at Richmond, Va., March, '64, while a prisoner. 
John E. Charrett, Penn. Discharged to accept a com mission in 
, 1st U. S. H. xV. C, March, '64. Charles B. Hitchcock, Essex. 
Killed at Utoy Creek, Ga., August, '64. 
Corporals— Enlisted August, 1862— Timothy Bailey, Essex. Re- 
duced to ranks at his own request. John B. Pettit, Essex. 
Sergeant, discharged for disability. William G. Wilkinson, 
Penn. Died at Lexington, Ky.,' Xo^•ember, '(j2. Peter M. 
Swords, Valley. Promoted. Carev G. Colburn, Essex. Wm. 
W. Mc^Eillen, Essex. Died in Anclersonville, 3Iay, '64; No. of 
grave, 1337. James B. IjJackmore, Essex. David Fast, Essex. 
Discharged for disability. 
Wagoner— John D. Martin, Essex, August, '62. Discharged for 
disability. 

Privates— •Enlisted August, 1862 — Michael Alderman, [discharg- 
ed for disability], James "D. Bloomer, |])romoted], Sidney I). But- 
ler, [promoted], Gershome Burnett, William B. Barr,'[died in 
Anderson vi He, April, '64j, William Cassett, [deserted], John 
Cole, [died in Andersonville, .Vpril, '64], Elijah Cox, Joel Cox, 
Douglas N. Crone, ] promoted], Thomas Colwell, [died at Lexing- 
ton, Ky., January, '68|, William F. Carter, Newton Dollson, Uhas. 
B. Davis, [died in Andersonville, September, 64], AVallace W. 
Emanuel, Whitfield Evans, [supposed to liave died in prison], 
William Ellis, [discharged for disability], Andrew Fauiz, [pro- 
moted], Jonathan (rraves, Henry A. Greenewald, [deserted], Ste- 
phen W. Green, [was a prisoner], Medora Hoover, [died at Lex- 
ington, Ky., April, '63], William Herridge, [died July, '63; acci- 
dental wounds], Lewis Hiback, [deserted], Nathan II. Hull, Mi- 
chael Hire, [promoted], David Kerns, [was prisoner], William H. 



AXD ITS PIONEERS. 319 

Mor<^an, Eile Maranvillo, [wounded], Georg'e W. Nicliolas, [was 
innsonerj, John Oldakor, | promoted], Frank Pross, | deserted], 



Ancil 11. Woodcock, llussel White, [died at Ijcxington, Ky., n)e- 
ceniber, "02], Essex. .Vll'red B. Armstrong-, (discharged for disa- 
Itility], John llarvey, [discharged for disability], Toulon. David 
Barrett, [dJed at Lexington, Ky., February, 'O.'j], James PL Busli, 
Absalom J. Cooper, William Cohvell, [discharged], John Dawson, 
David Dawson, James Elston, [died in Andersonville, June, '64], 
Noah Fautz, [died in Andersonville, April, '(54], Shephard 
(ireen, I-]ugene Hart, Charles Hall, [promoted], David S. 
lliller, IprouK^ted], Curwinc ]McCoy, .John McCoy, [discharged 
for disability], (iteorge B, Marlat, [prisoner of war, supposed to 
liave died], Simon Bay, [died atRichinond, Va. , -April, '(J4], James 
Biay, [die(l at Bichm'ond, Va., ISlarch, '04,] M'illiam Bay, [died 
at Baltimore, June, '(i4, James AV. Batcliff, [died at Lexington, 
Ky., January, '03], Joseph Sparks, David Wundling, [died at 
Knoxville, Tenn., November, '(13; wounds], \"alley. .Jerry JI. 
Bailey, [discharged for disability |, William Itolga'te, Calvin B. 
Laskell, William .J. IMorgan, Cyrus C. Snare, [promoted], James 



Becruits — luilisted IMi-.rcii, iSiJl — Jiimes Ij. Fox, <A>'nh 111.), 
Adam Bu.sh, ((>.jth 111.), (roorge lUish, (<)-")th Ill.i, Jaeo)) S'oves, 
Francis 31. Sellers, (died at Springfield, 111., June, '04', James M. 
Ta.cket, (O-lth 111.), Anson Tanner, iOOth ill.', Wyoming'. Morris 
C. Lumpson, {Oola 111. I, Touh n. 

(■(iMI'ANV r. 

Captains — AVilliam W. Wright, (Joshen, September, '02. Died 
.June, '•)-(■. James (r. Armstrong, Toulon, .Tune, '04. 

First-Lieutenant — .Jackson Lawrence, West .Tersev, September, 
'02. Bvesigned. B.obt. F. Westfall, Penn, ISlarch, '03. Died 
.June, '03. James G. Armstrong, Toulon, .June, '(53. Promo- 
ted. Bushrod Tapp, Toulon, .June, '(54. 

Seco)Kl-I^ieutenant — Bobert E. Westfall, T'emi, Se])tember, '02. 
i'romotcd. James G. Armstrong, Toulon, .March, '(53. l^romo- 
ted. George C. ^Maxtield, Toulon, JunOj 03. Besigned. Hen- 
ry B. l^erry, Toulon, June, '(5'5. Not nuistered. 

First Sergeant — James (J. Armstrong, Toulon, August, '02. Pro- 
moted. 

Sergeants — ICnlisted August, '02 — (George C. ^laxfield, Toulon. 
I^romoted 2d lieutenant. Edwin Butler, Toulon. AVas prison- 
er. William I*. I-'inley, Es^ex. Killed ;it Knoxville, Tenn., 
November, '03. jiushrod Tapp, Toulon. Prcjmotetl tirst-lieu- 
tenant. 

Corporals — l^idisted August, '02 — John JL Lane, l\ssex. Ser- 
geant, killed at Ftoy Creek, Georgia, August, '04. AVilliam 
Bounds, (Joshen. Henry B. Perry, West Jersey. Istsergeant, 
and 2d lieutenant. William C. Bell, West .Jersev. Killed at 



4320 STARK COUXTV 

3\n<x\svillc, Tcnn., XovenilxT, H];]. Andrew (}. Pike, j'cuii. 
iSerg'eant, killed at L'toy Creek, (ia., Au-u-ust, '(>!. Levi Silii- 
Jiian, Go^shen. Milton Trickle, I'.ssex. John I-'. llhoder>, (to- 
slieu. Sergeant, diseharged for wounds. 

Privates — Enlisted August, '02— S. ]M. if. Adams, {i)ronioted), 
John L. Adams, (died at Lexington, Ky.. Dcn/emher, '()2 , Jlenry 
vil Ackley, (ieorge P>oyd, AVilliam J>oyd, Wiiiiaiii J [.Barton, (dis- 
i'harged tor wounds), p]lman Bunhill, (died at Knoxsville, Tenn., 
January, '(54; wounds), AV'illlam IJeiderbeek, William M. Creigh- 
ton, (died at Lexington, Ky., February, 'O^i, J>arlus Demont, (V. 
■Jl. C., September, '(i;^), Av'illiam II. Ll'i, (])romoted), Plenry dixr- 
.jier, (discharged for disability), James 11. (relvin, (i)ron'ioted) 
Daniel Hazelton, (deserted), Andrew Kanunerer, ({iromoted), Is- 
aac Messinger, (died at ^Marietta, (h\., September, 'Oil, Josiaii Mi- 
nor, liobert Makings, Theodore IMcDaniels, Thomas I'roctor, 
(discharged for disal)ility), Jacob Stauffer, Ira Scranton, (Jeorge 
Cr. Stone, (promoted I, Thomas T. White, (drowned June, 'Go), 
David ^\'ebster, John AV. AVhitten, (killed at Atlanta, (Ja., Au- 
ji,-ust, 'Gi), West Jersey. William P. Lallentine, (])romot('d), ^lil- 
ton Headley, Austin (". Ilimes, William Ilimes, James Hughes, 
-John Kendall, (killed at Knoxville, Tenn., November, 'G8), Job. 
<x, Mahappy, Hiram G. Parrish, Jacob Vulgamoth, (promoted), 
€urtis Wright, Goshen. Alfred P. Ballentine, John W. Curf- 
jiian, (died in Franklin Tenn., December, '(U ; wounds), James F. 
Finley, (promoted;, Essex. John Black, Ilobert M. Denney, 
Cpromoted, killed at LTtoy Creek, Ga., August, 'G4), Geo. Eli, (V. 
11. ('., September, 'G3), Samuel IM. p]idridge, AVilliam T. p]ssex, 
(died at Springfield, 111., September, '(U), Glaus Forss, (killed afc 
Knoxville. Tenn., November, 'Go), George Graen, James P. 
Headley, H. B. Johnson, (V. R. C, April, '74), Timothy Kenne- , 
<ly, George ]Miller, (died at Ijexington, Ky., November", 'G2j, Je- 
remiah 1). ^[adden, (died at Knoxville, Tenn., I)eceml)er, '(kJ), 
iJeorge A\'. Uziah, (died at Ijexington, Ky., ]March, '(>">), Wiiliani 
Ji. Price, (discharged for disability), George W. llhodes, (killed 
j\t T'toy Creek, (ia., August, 'G4),'<Jeorge Ilockwell, Bobert G. . 
Stowe, (discharged for disability), William ,V. Stowe, (discharged 
for disal)ilitv), Milton Stevens, "(deserted), Preslev Terrel, Davi<l 
Tinlin, ( V.^ B. C., 3[arch, 'Go), Benj. F. Todd, Wiliiam Vulga- 
jnoth, Toulon. James AV. Davidson, (discharged for disal)ility)» 
John D. P^ssex, James Essex, (killed at Ctoy Creek, (Ja., August, 
'G4), AVilliam 11. Harris, Anderson Harty, (promoted), Jesse Li- 
kens, (A''. R. C, September, '63), James 'jMcSharry, John V. Ni- 
j>-us, (died at Cincinnati, Ohio, October, 'G2i, Zarah II. Newton, 
(Vv'as i)ris()ner), Peim. E[)hraim W. Snnth, Osceola. 

Ptecruits — Joseph H. Burwick, I'atrick Flinn, (21st Ohio Infan- 
try), lAither Graham November, '(;.'), (Goth Illinois), Ileniy V. 
Hall, Februnry, 'G4, (died at Chattanooga, ]Mav, 'G4; wounds), J. 
H. Harkins, (21st Ohio Lifantry), AVilliam J. Hamilton, ((;")th Ill- 
inois), ^lartin Hickman, (Goth Illinois), Peter C. Johnson, Aug- 
ust, 'G2, Owen Leek, (died at Lexington, Ky., April. 'G;5), J. AV. 
McDaniels, March, 'G4, ^Goth Illinois), Charles McConisey, Aug- 
ust, 'G2, (ieo. AV. Pate, Deceml)er, '(;;>, iiioth IJlinois), Thomas 
Patterson, Decem I >er, 'Go, Kioth Illinois), AVilliam T. Shores, F. 



AND ITS PIOXEEKS. oil 

\. Stone, August, 'lii*, Jo^s!' V>. Taylor, Au<;-ust, '()2, Aaron llidle^ 
AujU'ust, '(i2, (supjjoscd killed Xoveniber, '(>>), ]Ionry J. Stone, 
August, '()2, (diseiiarged ibr wounds), Carlos B. Tlidr}), August, 
'<)2, (diseliarged), Oiol' X. Youngguist, August, '(32, I discharged), 
Toulon. Kli>!ui J. Taylor, 3Iarc-li 2;5, lS<i:{, ((>-)th Illinois), Wyo- 
juing. 

CdMl'AXV <;. ; 

Corporals— I-]d ward 1*. Wright, Stark county, August, '()2. Pro- 

inoted. 

Privates— Enlisted August, 18(52 — Joseph Berry, Charles 3\ezer, 
{\'. P. C., October, '(>} , (leorge ]Mell>ourne, I^ouis E. Morton, 
(discharged for disability), .lohn A. Tarble, Lafayette. 

Pecruits— Enlisted T^Iarch, '()4 -William A.Brown, (C.lth 111- 
inoiss Toulon. Andrew Jackson, ((3")th Illinois), JSIyron Waters, 
(discharged for disability), Frank Jj. Yale, ((J'jth Illinois), Lafay- 
ette. 

rroii'.wv II. 

Priyates— Enlisted August, '()2— Charles IMeComsev, (Co. ¥.), 
Aaron llidle, (Co. F.), 11. S. Stone, Co. F.), Frank A.' Stone. (Co. 
F.), Jesse B. Taylor, (Co. F.), -Carlos B. Thorp, (Co. F.), Olof N. 
Youngguist, (Co. P\) 

l^nassigned Recruits — John Beyier, (died at Camp Butler, Illi- 
nois, Xoyember, '(it), Lafayette. Ciba A. Dunlap, (discharged^, 
Bradford. X'oah liidlebaugh, ]March, '()•">, John C. Gingerich, 
(drafteil, n)issing since December, '(it), Essex. Jonas John:>on, 
(rejected), West Jersey. A'olney Arnold, March, '(>3, Toulon. 

OXE HUXDPEI) AXD TWEXTY-FOUPTH. 

CnMI'ANY A. 

Corporals — Asa Bunton, Ehnira, August, '(>2. Promoted. 

Privates — p]nlisted August, '()2 — Daniel S. Ac^ams, P'rank Ilutl' 
son, (promoted), Levi Leek, (Invalid Corps), Fred M. Leacroft, 
Asa Smith, (promoted, died at P^jrt (Jaines, April 10, '(3-')), Ei- 
niira. 

(OMl'AXY Y. 

Sergeants — George S. (ireen, Ehnira, August, '62. 

Corporals — Samuel ISl. Likes, l^lniira, August, '(52. Died atVicks- 

burg, September, '(34. 

Privates — Enlisted August, '(32 — Xathaniel Copper, (died INIay,.* 
'(>;}; wounds;, Alexander \\'ier, (died at ;Memi)his, Septendjer, 
'().•]), Elmira. Sylvester Sweet, Osceola. 

Recruits— Walter A. Fell, (;i3d), Thos. :Murray, February, '(54, 
Thomas \Y. Rule, (88d), Andrew TurnbuU. (;3;5dj, Elmira. 'AIv- 
in (xalley, (8-'kl), Toulon. 

OXE HUXDRED AXD TWEXTY-SEVEXTH. 

('(OIPAXV ]i. 

Privates — Enlisted August, lH(i2 — Aljrani Bevier, (deserted), 
Ptobt. J. Dickinson, (discharged), William II. (iiwitts) (V. R. ('., 
January, Hi')), Uriah Giwitts, (deserted), (ieorge Kinter, (desert- 
<'d), Lafayette. 



S22 STAKK COUNTY 

OXE HUNDRED AXD THIHTY-XIXTH— 3 >roxTiis. 
Principal 3Iusicum— S. \\ H. Bates, Toulon. 

(IJMI'ANY A. 

Corporals— Otis P. Dyer, Toulon, May, '64. 

('():n[paxy k. 
Corporals — James Swank, West Jersey, ^lay, '04. 

.'O.MPANY ]I. 

Second-Lieutenant — Ansel J. AVri<>rlit, Toulon, June, 'G4. 
Sergeants — Enlisted ^lay, '04 — ( Jorhani P. Blood, George Dugan,, 

Toulon. 
Corporals— Enlisted ^lay, 'Ol-(3. I\ Crowell, X. W. Dewey, W. 

O. Johnson, Toulon. 
IMusician — S. V. R. Bates, Toulon, May, '04. Promoted princi- 

jial musician. 

Privates— l^nlisted 3Iay, 18G4— Samuel Burge, Wm. J. Barnett, 
Thos. W. Cade, Geo. W. Dewey, .Joseph Flansburg, Adam Gard- 
ner, D. C. Lyon, Oren IMaxfieki, jr., Elisha Mosher, William H. 
Newcomer, Harrison Xewton, Joseph H.Xewton, Ruben Rounds, 
Harvey .J. Remington, Jolm S. R*)of, Chai'les D. Shari-er, (dis- 
charged to re-enlistj, Theodore A'andyke, Wm. W. Wright, An- 
drew J. Whitaker, Benj. J. Whitch'er, Benj. Witter, Isaac M. 
Witter, Toulon. George Potter, Ijafayette. 

Recruits — Enlisted May, 1804 — Abram 11. Loudenburgh, (from 
Co. I.), Yv'm. Searl, (froni Co. L), Toulon. 

OXE HUXDRED AXD FORTY-EK^HT— 1 yea h. 

CiOU'ANY I. 

Sergeants — Closes B. Robinson, I/afayette, I-^ebruary, 'O-l 
Corporals — Edwin B. Pomeroy, YCest Jersey, Fel)ruary, '0-3, 

Privates— Enlisted February, '05— Wm. D*. Cundiflf", (promoted), 
Charles Hester, Luman Ilinies, Lafayette. 

OXE HUXDRED AXD FIFTY-OXE—1 year. 
Sergeant-Major— Fayette Lacey, Lafayette. 

COMPANY A. 

Privates — Lafayette Schamp, Penn, February, 'O-l. 

('0511'ANY ];. 

Privates— Enlisted February, ISi;.!— W. H. Boyer, Wyoming, 
Allen (liingrich, (died at Xashviile, ]March, 'G-")), SiackwatC'r. C. 
W. Phenix, (])romoted). Pleasant Green. 

CU.Ml'ANY J. 

■Captain — Casimer P. Jackson, Lafayette, February, 'Oo. 

First-Lieutenants — .James INIontoo'th, Felsruary^ '(;■), I^lmira. 
Resigned June, 'Go. Andrew (Jalbraith, .)nly,'^'G5, Toulon. 

Second-Lieutenants — Andrew (ialbraith, ]-'ebruary, '0'), George 
Fezler, July, '6'^, Toulon. Xot nnistered. 

First Sergeant — ]^\\yette I-,acy, Lafayette, Feb., 'O-J. Promoted 
Sergeant-^Major. 

Sergeants — I^nlisted P'ebruary, '05— Geo. Dugan, Toulon. Promo- 
ted. Geo. IL I\vJer, Toulon. Promoted lid lieutenant, (ieo. 



AND ITS nOXEF.RS. 323 

"W. McDaniels, Lafayette. Promoted. Samuel Keys, Toulon. 
Corporals,— Enlisted February, '(Jo— Rufus S. .Jones, Lafayette. 

Promoted. Samuel Dixon, Wyoniintj,-. Died at ^Michigan City, 

Indiana, May, Hi'). Thomas ]iomer, Toulon. James F. 

Thompson, Lafayette. .John S. lioof, Toulon. II(,'rod Mur- 

nan, Touk)n. 
Musicians— Ihilisted February, 'Go — Thomas S. Craig, Goshen. 

Chas. AV. Orr, Toulon. 
AVagoner — Jonathan Jlounds, Goshen, l^Ybruary, '(io. 

Privates— Enlisted PVl)ruary, IMGo— Atkinson Coe, Austin De- 
Wolf, Joseph Dixon, Andrew Galbraith, (promoted), J^^dward A. 
.Tohnson, Samuel K. Jjowman, John H. IVIoncri^f, (died at Dal- 
ton, Ga., March, 'Go), ]3etliuel Pierson, Setli F. and Daniel Jiock- 
well, Henry W. Thomas, David AVoodard, Toulon. David 
Crumb, Geo. W. Gilson, (killed at Bushnell, 111., 'Go, in attempt 
to jump bounty), Orson Grant, I^eonidas .Jones, l<]lias B. Ijcwis, 
(deserted), Ira I. McConnell, Samuel Masters, (promoted), Ed. A. 
i*erry, Goshen, ('asimore, Jackson, (promoted), Lafayette. Jas. 
Mon'tooth, (promoted), Elmira. 

THIRD CAVALRY. 

Coill'ANY A. f 

Privates — Enlisted August, 18G1 — James H. Chaddock, (promo- 
ted), Samuel A. Higiilands, (deserted), .John W. Higlilands, (pro- 
moted, died at ]\Lemphis), Stark coimty. 

Recruits — Enlisted Feltruary, 18G4— Samuel IT. Aten, (Co. C, 
.'Id consolidated cavalry), Williajn P. Burns, (Co. C., 'klcon.cav.), 
Harrison Burkhart, ivo!)ert Garner, Co. C., od con. cav.), John 
Green, (Co. C, M con. cav.), John King, (died at Port Hudson, 
Louisiana), June, Gi, Theodore W. ]\fcDaniel, (^eorge F. Pyle, 
(Co. C, 3d con. cav.), John Simmerman, (Co. C, 3d con. cav.), 
Henry Simmerman, Co. C, 3d con. cav. i, AVest Jersey. George 
Boardman, (discharged for disability ), Hugh R. Creighton, (dis- 
<-harged for pronioti(jn), Stark county. ^Vlbert P. Finley, Ton- 
Ion. 

THIRD (CONSOLIDATED) CAVALRY. 

f'OMi'ANV C. 

Privates — Samuel Aten, AVilliam Burns, Roliert A. Garner, J. 
Green, (deserted), Theodore Y\'. IMcDaniel, (Jeorge F. Pyle, (de- 
serted), Henry Simmerman, Jolm Simmerman, \Yest Jersey. 

COMl'AXV K. 

Privates — Andrew J. AYalker, l-'lmira, ?t[arch, 'Go. 
SECOND ARTILLERY. 

COMPANY A. 

Corporal — Harvey Pierce, Wyoming, May, 'Gl. Veteranized 
and promoted. 



324 STARK COrXTV 

Privates — Enlisted July, '(il — f'leniens il. Defendener, (dieil at 
Xew Orleans, February,' '04, Thonias J. ICllis, (veteranized), Wy- 
-(jniing. 

Recruits— Enlisted September, 1802— Alva W. Brown, Lafay- 
ette. John Cox, (died at Syracuse, Dec, 65), X. H. Hull, Cluis. 
Thomas, Wyoming. Samuel Eag-on, Emanuel Kissel, West Jer- 
sey. David N. Hiifner, diaries X. Hull, Osceola. Wm. lieers, 
Calvin Piockwell, Hugh Stockner, Marshall and AVarren YVini^ 
Lorenzo K. Wiley, Toulon. Morris Ayres, (died in service), .Jo- 
seph, O. lUoomer, (died in service;, Stephen Carney, All)ert Eag- 
on, John Hull, John II. Stratton, Stark county. 

NINTH CAVALRY. 

COHPAXV H. 

Recruits — Enlisted January, '04 — Thomas Flanagan, Christo- 
pher Flanagan, .John Stokes, John C. Shaw, Patrick Smith, Tou- 
lon. Henry Lewis, (died a i)risoner at Charleston, S. C), Samuel 
R. Lewis, (deserted), Ijafayette. 

CO^lI'ANV K. * 

I'aptains— .1. O. H. Spinney, Bradford, ]May, '65. Veteranized. 
First-Lieutenant— J. O. II. Spinney, Bradford, September, '64. 

Promoted. 
Sergeants — Enlisted September, '61— John Jamison, Bradford, 
^^etei-anized and deserted. Francis ]NL Lampt*r, Osceola. Dis- 
charged. 

l^rivates-Enlisted October, '61— Fowler Bryant, E. W. Curtis, 
(veteranized), Frank U. JJoyle, (discharged), Thomas A. Foster, 
Wesley F. Foster, (veteranized and i)roniotedi, John S. Hayden, 
(veteranized and promoted), Christopher Plandley, Wm. S. Luce, 
Isaac Moon, .James, M. Stanley, (veteranized and promoted), J. 
<). H. Spinney, (veteranized], .James Sherlock' (veteranized), 
Bradford. Francis Griswold, (promoted, died at Memphis, July, 
■"62), Herman 1). Sturm, Osceola. 

Recruits— Henry ]McIvii)bon, (promoted), March 28, '64, Brad- 
ford. 

Unassigned Recruits — Martin Shay, Penn, March 31, '65. 

MISCELLANEOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 

11th Illinois A^ohmteer Infantry. — Company C., Henry Speers, 
recruited February, '65. Transferred to 46th Illinois. 

12th Illinois. — Company II, Thomas Carrol, Providence, enlisted 
August, '61, discharged August, '62, for wounds. 

16th Illinois. — Company A., George W. I^eighton, Penn, recruited 
February, '64. Company G., Lemuel G. JNIarsh, Penn, Reuben 
Crook, enlisted ]May, '61, "veteranized in Company A. 

ITtli Illinois. — Company D., Thomas B. Bonar and David W. Sny> 
der of Lafayette, enlisted ^lay, '61. 

18th Illinois.— Company F., Charles ]McGlaughlin and John Mad- 
den of Essex, enlisted March 10th, '65, and deserted ]March '65 



AND ITS PIONEERS. •>-•>• 

John I\ Smith, (Joslieii, (Milisted PVbniary 2'), Mo. Georo-e AV. 
Ii(j\vfrs of Lafay(4te, IMairh, 'tio. 
LMth Illinois.— Jerome B. Thomas of Wyojuinji,-, enlisted at Ke- 
wanee and eou)missioned as First-Assistant Suroeon, Mareli :>, 

2sth Illinois.— Company E., James ('. Hall and John Waldron 
enlisted February, '64, both from Penn. Cojupany F., Fdress 
M. C'onklin, ()et()ber, '04, (substitute). Company K., James ^[. 
j-'cden, Toulon, September, '01. ( Jeoru'e A. Armstrong', Elmira, 
and Jeremiah Ferf^-uson, I^afayette, enlisted, JMareh, 'O-i. 
;54th Illinois. — Company F., Janies Hall and John v\^aldi'on of 

Penn, (see 2.sth Ill>. 
;>Sth Illinois. — Company F., enlisted Auy-ust, '01, John 31. Cole,, 
Thomas C. Davis, (taken [)risoner), Peter Lane, (discharged for 
disabilityj, all from West Jersey. 
4Hth Illinois.— Company U., Hugh i). Ketfer, Toulon, enlisted at 
]MeLeansboro, July, '61. Promoted eaptain, Ai)ril, '05. Com- 
})any I)., John Tiinmons, Essex, reeruited ^lareh, '05, deserted 
June, 'ti;'), (see !>3d Illinois). 
41st Illinois. — Com{)any I)., James I). Anderson, Lafayette, enlis- 
ted July, '0!. Veteranized in Veteran Battalion, Company A., 
as corporal, January, '<>4. 
4i)th Illinois,— Comi)any B., .John Ij. Lee, I^afayette, recruited Aj)- 
ril, 'Oo. Company K., AVm. C. (xrant, lOlmira, recruited March 
'Oi. 
'lOth Illinois.— Unassigned Recruit. John Pyan, Penn, February, 

'05. 
53d Illinois. — Company A., Francis Bradley, December, '64, (sub- 
stitute, never joineci the company). Company C, James W. 
Albro, Osceola", October, '04, (neverjoined the company), James 
Lee, Penn, December, '04, (neverjoined eomi)any). Comi»any 
E., \\'m. Oziah, Penn, I)ecend)er, '04, (substitute). 
5Gth Illinois. — Edward KelTer, Toulon, eidisted at MeLeansl>oro, 
February, '02, and commissioned 2d lieutenant. Promoted cap- 
tain, October, '02. Killed l»y fall of a tree, December, 'O:'., in 
Ala. Osmand C. Gris^vold, Toulon, enlisted at McLeansboro, 
as sergeant, November, 'Oi. Promoted 2d lieutenant, October, 
'02. Pesigned, ^May, '04. 
57th Illinois. — Company H. \Vm. V. CliiTord, enlisted at Poches- 

ter, Oetol)er, '01, deserted June, 'n2. 
58th Illinois. — Company D., Rudolph Shipjjman, Essex, promo- 
ted, discharged for clisability. Company I]., Isaac Dudley, 
Edward J>eHieg, (deserted', ]March, '05, both from Elnnra. 
Company I., Franklin Maxcy, corjxtral, and James C. ]\[axcy, 
l»oth enlisted from Ehnira, 3larch, '05. Fnassigned, John Ry- 
an, Penn, February, 'oi3. 
04th IlliiKjis. — Company C, Stephen Babb, Osceola, recruited, 

February, '02. 
OGth Illinois.— Comitany F., Chark'S Atherton, Lafayette, Octol)er, 
'01, (transferred Invalid corps), Andrew Ilannlton, Lafayette, 
recruited FeViriiary, '04. T^nassigned, Daniel Holmes, Lafay- 
ette, recruited Februaiy, '01. 



326 STARK COUNTY 

83d Illinois,— Company K., Wm. II. Harris, August, '62, dis- 
eliarg-ed for disability. 

lO'ith Illinois. — Company G., Benjamin Williams, Toulon, com- 
missioned captain Septemljer, 'ili, died in ser\ice. Company 
H., James w. Berry, Toulon, enlisted as corporal August, '02, 
Lincoln. Promoted to 1st lieutenant. 

108th Illinois. — Company C, Richard Lynch, Toulon, recruited 
November, '63, (see 47th Illinois). Company I)., James lliley, 
recruited, March, '65, (see 47th IiIinoi'<). 

113th Illinois. — Company K., Milton A. Coffenlniry, Bradford, 
recruited November, '03. 

114th Illinois.— .John C. Copestake, West Jersey, commissioned 
1st assistant surgeon, Octol)er, '64. 

132d Illinois. — 3 months— Co. (>., C. Hotchkiss, Toulon, and Bar- 
ney ]M. Jackson, Lafayette ; botli enlisted April, '64. 

15.")th Illinois. — 1 year — Co. L, enlisted February, '65, Wm. Cross, 
Wyoming, Oliver P. Wl)ite, AVest Jersey, Patriv'k McGuyre, 
Eciward O'Brien, (drowned in Stone River, January, '65.J 

4th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. — Company I)., William Douglas, 
Essex, January, '61, (see 12th cavalry). Company A., Joseph 
E. jNIcKinstrey, corporal, (see 12th cavalry). I'ompany K., 
William Crooks, Essex, recruited October, '62, })romoted Ser- 
geant-Major. 

7th Cavalry. — Unassigned recruits, enlisted from Penn,]March, '65, 
Charles Butcher, (died at Camp Butler), and VViJiiam Butcher. 

11th Cavaliy. — Comi)any C, Andrew Caldwell, Slackwater, re- 
cruited December, '63, deserted .July, '61. Company M., Wm. 
A. Glaze, West Jersey, recruited 3Iarch, '6.-). Unassign.ed, 
Baxter M. Mahany, Toulon, recruited February, '65, (died at 
Camp Butler). 

12th Cavalry. — Joseph Johnson, Toulon, November, '64, AVilliam 
Douglas, Essex, (see 4th cavalry), Josei)h E. 3[cKinstrey, cor- 
poral, (see 4th cavalr^^). 

14th Cvaalry. — Company A., DeWltt C. Reece, West Jersey, No- 
vember, '62. Company iM., Isaac Dennis, West Jersey, October, 
'6 , discharged for disability. 

1st Artillery. — Battery D., I^ewis \V. Jones, Wyoming, corporal, 
discharged. 

2d L^. S. Veteran Volunteers. — Company A., Alvah 3E. Brown, 
Penn, enlisted February, '65. 

4th v. y. Veteran Volunteers.— Company B., Geo. Carter, West 
-lersey, enlisted February, '65. 

1st U. S. Army Corps.— Company .5, Thomas Iliggins, Elmira, 
enlisted March, '65. 

4th U. S. Regular Infontry. — Adam Fell, died at Anapolis jNJary- 
land. Robert Fell and Asa Clark, all of I^lmira. 

16th U. S. Regular Infantry. -Reuben Shockley, James Schemer- 
horn, Creighton Swain, James ]McGee. 

1st U. S. Artillery. -George Rouse, Goshen. 

121st New York. - Company A., Peter Nicholson, Toulon. 

21st Ohio. — Patrick Flynn and Joiin II. Harkins of Toulon. 

7th Mo. Volunteer Infantrj\ — Company I., enlisted at St. Louis, 
3Io., June, ^t}\, mustered out Jun.e, '64, sergeants Robert Robb 



AND ITS PrOXEEllJ= 



327 



and Isaac Harri;^ of Toulon, privates James Shivvers of Essex 
and Thomas Perry of Toulon. 

10th Mo., A'okmteei- Infantry.— Company C., A. X. Harris, Go- 
shen. 

11th Mo., A^olunteer Cavalry. -Company K., A. N. Harris, Go- 
shen, enlisted as 2d lieutenant and jtromoted to captain. 

INIississippi Marine Brigade. — William Cross of Toulon. 

Marine Artillery. — )ohn James Campbell, died in service, Samuel 
I)yer, died at lloanoke, Andrew Galbraith, .lohn Hotchkiss, 
Charles 3Iaxtieid, Henry Marchant, .leptha ]Mosher, Carletoii 
Rhodes, died at Newbern, X. C., Warren V\ inn, Oliver White, 
Isaac v\hittaker, Marshall Winn of Toulon. Dennis Clark, J as. 
w. Dexter, Marian Godfrev, James Hall, John Labarr, JohnH. 
Parks. 

57th Illinois, Company B. — By mistake the following list of namers 
were omitted in the list of this regiment: Emery S. Buffum, 
John VV. lUitfum, Xelson Grant, X. G. Hilliard, George H. 
Hurd, William IT. Hurd, Daniel Lundy and Samuel Lamoin, 
all enlisted from Goshen. 



CEXSUS RETURXS. 





1840 


1S50 


1855 


1855 


1855 


1800 


1800 


1800 


1805 


1865 


1SG5 


1870 


1870 


1870. 




-_• . 


. ' , 


^-~>^^ 


r~^—^ 


-.-».^ 


■'^^^^ 


— •— .^ 


..^jt. . 


.-.A^ 


— ■ — 


.^A^ 


-ij^ 


^» 


-*>— ^ 


Towxsnips. 


5) 


5 




? 

C 
x 


^ 






>^ 




1^ 


3 




p 

ri 
\ 






■ 


Osi-eula 


.... 




;!i)o 


281 


5sr, 






1000 


537 


527 


1004 


1148 


130 


1278 








275 
4:'.(l 
4(i(l 
227 
48H 
350 
2i)l;i 


:«i4 
24:5 

:;7!i 
:;,s.s 

175 

4(17 

408 

2585 


U70 
518 
8(10 
854 
4(12 
805 
7(34 
5408 


... 


.... 


054 
000 

178;; 
1(K',:{ 

87(; 

1108 
1100 
0004 


554 

57s 
080 
(540 
Oil 

(;o2 

051 

5102 


544 
407 
!i(;2 
015 
524 
510 
508 
4720 


1008 
1045 
1042 
12(;4 
1135 
1121 
1219 
0888 


801 
072 
1842 
1123 
845 
1431 
1223 
0475 


217 
140 
21s 
147 
210 
107 
02 
1270 


1 1 08 








1121 


Timloti 




■i'il 


•>(r(iO 


<u)s)icn 




SO:57 


007 


l''7o 


A'alley 






lliOl 


!KSHC\ . . . 






1538 








i:a5 


Stiirk County 


ir)7o 


:J71U 


10751 



111 1870 the liatioiijility of (Uir furoisn poimlation was asfollows : British, 308 ; ('anadiau, lo7 ; 
liifli, 350; .Scotch, 147; (jioniian, 158 ; Scandinavian, 178 ; Frcncli, 0. 

The population of our towns as follows : Toulon, 004 ; Wyoniing,' C40 ; Lafayette, 284 ; lirad- 
foid, 280. In 1855, Toulon had 355, and Lafayette 350. 



J^. -I 

X 


/ - 




2 




X 


1 

X 


-> 


X 


— • zo 


/- 




— ^ 
X 


> ^ 

-^ — - 




-T; 


1 

1 


1 ^-^ V— L t—k 

: l~ r: -1 — ~ -1 o 

1 : ic -1- :.■ X ic c: -4- 


=-5 —1- -1- CO 11 
X-5-+ i-» 4t 41 4< — 14 14) 1 1-^ 1 

— 4^1 — ~ _ C; J-^ 14 X 4- __ X 

S CO ri — 14 C: 14 -I X 4I 4^ c; 
~ -1 CO CO 40 ^ 41 C3 14 00 • 


!; 












14 


















X : 

i ^" 


1 . .^ j__^ .-^ 

: ^i;£ 


Co 4— 
— I 4( c~, 

u- 14 c;; 3 

■I ^I 4i ir , 


— — 14*-'" 14 41X14 14- 
4- C; X 14 X 4i CO CO -^ -1 — 4i • 
X 41 X -I — ~ 4- -1 14 ~ -I 14 . 

^ :r 4- — CO 4- X ^i 4- 14 14 — : 

^0 X Ci t4 i-* X 41 X C: ^1 X 4- • 


1— L 

X 


X 14 S 1^ 
: 14 1 4 -I -1 




4t 
X -1 . 








— 


— 


— 




* * 

— 4- 

CO 1-4 

* =r 

X CO 

4- 14 

:0 X 

41 4- 




IS 
|5 


1—^ u-i ^^ 




^ X 












r4 ^ 1-' 

_^ 4 1 1_4 C: 
44 ^ X 14 




^1 

4i O 

H- 4- 














_4 4^ 14 4^ 

^ 14 CO CO 

X Ci 4-4: 




X 

^5 


44 
4i 


14 K-" -• 
■i- 14 — 

X -J-; rt 

ii X -1 




14 2 

14 +; 
















4 4- — c: 
.X ri ix T} 


1 
X 

X 

1 


X 

14 
14 


CO — 

►— --1 — 

4i IZ X 

►4- cr c: 

14 ID 41 




14 14 

IZ 4i 
•-1 4i 
















1 4 421 —^ 4; 
~ C^ 41 41 

+1 — 55 ^i 

■ — M- CO 


X 




14 . ^ 


14 

S 1*4 c: X 
CO 14 14 ~ 


14 

4i 
c: 
(J- 
co 


-+ CO ^-i 1— ' ^- 
r- 4i CO — 14 4- t-" 4^ 

i5 !:i ~ ::J '^- i: 'P '^ ^ 

CO Jo CO CO To CO -1 II Tc 

4;i44-4-~irx:rx 


1 - 

1 


1; ^tc^ 

. 14 4-: — 




41 CO 
















■ X c: CO cr: 
I'j :i! ~ .?P 




X 


X H^ X C: 




4' 14 
4i CI 


















: fc-- c: 
: 9^:^ 

• 4— CO 




■X 
-I 
14 


CO i-' 
Xj ►4- 41 

X >— -1 -J- 
^:C X .< -1 

41 4i C; X 




,. :::3 






: c 

4- 
14 






; 1— ' * 41 >— ' c; 

: 14 C: -^ •^I 1,4 

CO Ci CO 4I u, 
-1 ~ 14 41 X 




1— I 

X 

CO 


4^ H-' 

j ^^ H- 4'i c: 

^i 5 X ci 
c; o ki- X 










: 14 

. X 

. c: 






>;: * J- ^j c: 
- iT cr: 14 X 

: X >— 4 — ^1 41 

X X 14 14 CO 

4- c; ;s 4- c:' 




X 
4— 


i ^1 
! X 

1 41 


CO 

CO 


4T 


1— » 
Co 






Co 

4- 


X 








* 

41 








4' 


*c: 

4-X 
14 X 
4- CO 


IS 

41 -1 




X 
4i 



Q 

(TV 

o 

d 

a: 

H 

H 

H 

Q 
(L 



H 109 89 











l'T ^tKvV/k- '^^ ,.♦ ♦^^ 



^v^-;^ 
.^^o 



• '-.IP-" /\ ••^^•' **% ''^mj j-'X 'm 






■'**o« 



V - • • - "^ 




'•oV*'' • 



• ■• 




.4 0<. 










...• -»^ 







'*• * 




* 4<^ ... <;.*'^ 



. J"^-"^ -.^r/ /X '•^•' /\ 









.••• 




♦- ^^. 



.^^^/* ^^ \ \^K-' ./"^^^ ••^^^•* **"% 







**»>.-.< 







^^9^ 



o ^^^X- 






e« • 
























HECKMAN 

BINDERY INC. 

.^^^ SEP 89 

N. MANCHESTER, 
INDIANA 46962 



